So I get this question recently and it made me laugh but to be honest, it’s so true. Dutch aren’t the best cooks and in this article, I will explain to you why. There is a piece of history you should learn, so let’s get right into it.
Dutch food is bad because the Netherlands was a colonizer for ages and they adopted other cultures cuisines. In the Netherlands, you can find food from all over the world. In Amsterdam live 180 different nationalities and in the Netherlands, there are people from almost 200 different countries.
We all can agree that Dutch cuisine isn’t the best one in the world. Although Dutch consolized the whole world and the Netherlands is a great country, you better avoid their delicacies. Don’t get me wrong. In the whole Netherlands, there are lots of amazing restaurants and you can get here food from all over the world. When it comes to traditional Dutch food there are also some tasty dishes. Keep on reading because you’ll find more about this in the following paragraphs. Enjoy!
Why is Dutch Food So Bad?
As I explained already it all comes to the history of the country. I believe that because they had access to amazing food from all over the world they have never had a need to create their own dishes. I say that Dutch cuisine is so bad but this isn’t 100% truth. There are some delicious foods. I would say that it just isn’t varied.
I live in the Netherlands for 6 years and I recently realized that Dutch people don’t really get tired of eating the same food day by day. I don’t know if this relates to all Dutch people. It’s just my observation. At the places I used to work I’ve constantly seen Dutch people eating the same unhealthy food, day by day. Foreigners most of the time cook their own food. Dutch Food is unhealthy. At least from my point of view. They consume a lot of white bread, deep fried processed food and lots of sweets. Their sweets are actually great. I love stroopwafels and their apple pie with whipped cream.
What was very surprising to me, they eat sausage that is packed in foil and it isn’t stored in cooler. In my country, they only sell fresh sausage. Here you can get a sausage wich expiration date of two months.
Traditional Dutch Food
So here I would like to mention some traditional Dutch foods. Among them, there are Bitterballen, Stroopwafel, Dutch Fries, Raw Herring, Kibbeling, Croquettes, Oliebollen, Cheese, Poffertjes, Ontbijtkoek, Stamppot, Dutch Liquorice, Erwtesoup, Rookworst.
If you like sweets I would recommend you to try Stroopwafel and Oliebollen. I don’t like licorice but they’re very popular in the Netherlands. They used to sell it in pharmacies in the past, but now, packed with processed ingredients and sugar I don’t think they are healthy anymore. When visiting a Dutch market you can get a warm and fresh stroopwafel which is unbelievably sweet and at the same time incredibly delicious. Oliebollen they sell mostly during Christmas time but you can find also some places which offer oliebollen all year long. The best ones are with raisins.
My favorite Dutch food is Kibbeling. That’s the blessing of the Netherlands. They have access to fresh fish. They have a very tasty dish made of codfish. Kibbeling is delicate chunks of fresh fish in crispy batter. It’s most of the time served with a garlic sauce. This is actually very tasty and I encourage you to try this one. If you are into healthy food and fish you should also try raw herring. This is one of the most known Dutch traditional foods. I like it but many people don’t. Its taste is very strong. When you get any kind of fish in the coastal towns you must be aware that there are seagulls waiting for you. They can be very bold and if there is an occasion to steal your food they will do it 🙂
Where you can Eat a Dutch Food in Amsterdam?
I don’t eat that much of Dutch food and people living in Amsterdam do the same. There are so many different restaurants from all over the world. If you want to get a traditional Dutch food I suggest you try some fish and you can get it in one of the food trailers or food trucks located in many places in the city. If you want to eat something sweet there are candy shops everywhere especially in the city center, red light district, and Jordaan.
Dutch Food Delivery
Ok, so let’s say you are at home or in the hotel and you don’t really feel like going out. So let’s order something, right? This is a 21 century and there is UBER.
To understand how Dutch food is popular you should visit one of the biggest food delivery services in the Netherlands called Thuisbezorgd – Link Here
I am writing this article in Haarlem, one of the biggest cities in the Netherlands. So let’s search for Dutch food in this beautiful city. After scrolling for a few seconds to the right side you finally find a Dutch food section and when you click it there are 4 options, 2 of them are snack bars, another is a sushi restaurant, and only one serve Dutch food 🙂
When you search for some Dutch food delivery in Amsterdam you don’t get better results. I was searching by address, close to the Vondelpark and Museumplein and in result I found 2 snack bars, not only with Dutch food but they happen to have some Dutch snacks.
Another very popular delivery service is called deliveroo.nl – Link hereThe difference between these two can be unnoticed at first, but let me explain you. Difference between thuisbezorgd and deliveroo is that deliverooo provide food which isn’t planned to be packed in a takeaway box. So basically you can order food from a restaurant and they will pack it for you and bring it as soon as possible. When on thuisbezorg you can order pizza or pasta which will suit a takeaway box.
Dutch Food Recipes
I will not bullshit you and to be honest, when it comes to Dutch food I cooked only Kibbeling. I have never cooked anything else before. Of course, I prepared some deep fried frikadel but that’s not cooking. Actually, you don’t need to be a master chef to cook dutch way. Even when you type Dutch food recipes in Pinterest you barely find some.
So for the purpose of this article, I created a board of Dutch Food Recipes on Pinterest and here you can find a link
Dutch Drinks
When it comes to drinks and beverages Dutch can be proud. Among the best Dutch beverages are: fresh mint tea, chocolade milk and you should also try some alcoholic drinks such as Jenever or very popular Dutch beer.
Freshmint Mint Tea is served almost in every restaurant and cafe in Amsterdam. You can order also fresh ginger tea. I love that kind of healthy warming drinks, especially on cold days.
Dutch have also very good chocolate milk, that you can buy in cafes but also you can get it in supermarkets and warm it up at home. It’s called Chocomel.
Jevener is a Dutch traditional gin. It was at the beginning sold only in pharmacies. Today you can get it everywhere and in Amsterdam, there are some cool tasting rooms. When in Amsterdam it’s a great idea to visit one of these places.
I like Dutch beer crafted by little breweries. There are tons of them. Homemade beer in the Netherlands is very popular. In Haarlem, the city very close to Amsterdam, there is even a former church which is now a brewery. It’s a cool place and it’s called Jopenkerk.
Dutch Food Souvenirs
When visiting Amsterdam people most of the time buy souvenirs. Some people get flower bulbs, some get windmill magnets. There are tons of different souvenirs available in the Netherlands. You can even get some cannabis drinks or lollipops. But if you are a food lover just like me, then you most probably want to bring home some food. So you have a few options. If I were you I would visit Vomar, Dekamarkt or Albert Heijn. These are the most popular Dutch supermarkets. There you can get products much cheaper than in souvenir stores. I would recommend you to buy some Dutch Cheese, Stroopwafels. They will be the best foods possible to take with you. For a package of 10 stroopwafels, you pay around 1,5 euros.
Amsterdam Vegan Paradise
If you are vegan or vegetarian you’ll fall in love with this city. I come from Poland and trust me, there are more vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Amsterdam than in whole Poland. There are so many and you can read about my favorites in this article – link here. There is also another article about some affordable Vegan spots – Link Here
Maja, one of our writers answer a question if being vegan in Amsterdam is easy. You can find this article here -> Link Here
Wrap Up
So, to wrap this all up. Dutch food isn’t the tastiest food in the world, but definitely, you can get some delicacies in the Netherlands. My favorite city in Europe when it comes to food is Prague. Here you can find a full 7-day Prague Itinerary. Prague is such an interesting city! But let’s get back to the Netherlands. I must admit that although Dutch food isn’t that good, the Netherlands is a country of diversity and you can eat here food from all over the world. There are very good restaurants in Amsterdam but about this, I will write in another article. Let me know what is your experience with Dutch food. Maybe you have a different point of view. Thank you for reading. Cheers.
