Dutch cuisine

Although it is not as much popular in the world as Italian or French, it uses dishes that are popular and can be easily prepared.

 

In the Dutch cuisine fish and vegetables play the most important part. What is typical for the northern cuisine is that there is not a big variety of dishes.
The simplicity of this cuisine has its roots in the beginning of the 20th century, when there were house schools (so called Huishoudschool) organised in Holland, where girls were getting to know the intricacies of running a household. The dishes that were prepared in those schools were simplified and now they are the base of the Dutch cuisine. 

Orange brandy

We can notice the influence of nearby countries and especially of the German and Scandinavian cuisine. Just like the Germans, the Dutch enjoy beer, especially lager, from brands like Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel, which are quite popular even outside of Holland. At the Royal family celebration an unusual orange containing brandy is usually served..

 

Kind of teas, coffees and other drinks play and important role in accompanying the desserts. Tea and coffee appeared in Holland quite long ago, they were brought from the Dutch colonies in India and right away became popular in other European countries. “Time for coffee” (koffietijd) - as a break in Holland between 10 and 11 a.m. and 7 and 8 p.m.. There is a rule of “one piece of cake per one cup”, which is believed to be the result of the Dutch thriftiness. The Dutchmen call whitecoffee “inappropriate”, they regard black coffee as the only “real” one. The Dutch also love hot chocolate and milk with anis. To accompany the drinks, the Dutch have a lot of sweet desserts such as appelgebak (apple pie with cinnamon), speculaas (short cinnamon biscuits), stroopwafels (round wafers with thick syrup in the middle) or poffertjes (small pancakes). What is interesting is that in many Dutch cities such desserts are sold out on the streets, for those who do not have time to make them at home.