Dutch Cuisine:
Europe’s Best Kept Secret?

Abby van Oers

Of course, Italy has pizza and pasta, and France beef bourguinon and escargots. While these delicacies perennially impress, their deliciousness has come to be expected.

That you can be amazed and surprised by the cuisine in Holland, however, maybe one of Europe’s best kept secrets!

Dutch Cuisine: As Simple as it is Amazing

As you cycle during the day, exploring the beautiful tulip fields, the green heart polderland and the quaint and authentic little villages of Holland, your dinners will be a well deserved surprise every evening.

The Netherlands doesn’t particularly have its own culinary specialties, but is therefore—like the demography in Amsterdam—a melting pot of different cultures and styles. As you peek into the kitchen in an average Dutch house, you’ll no doubt find a lot of farm-fresh, simple and tasty food: potatoes, cabbages, cauliflower, carrots, beef and pork.

In the 17th century, during the prominence of the East Indian Company, new spices and herbs were imported, like pepper, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, and the Dutch started to prepare new and different dishes. As Europe opened up, Holland also opened up for different cultures and tastes. Nowadays we cook the dishes of many cultures, European or otherwise: Indonesian, French, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Surinam, etc.