Dutch cuisine

[3] However, influenced by the eating culture of its colonies (particularly the Indonesian cuisine), and later by globalization, there is a renewed focus on taste, which is also reflected in the 119 Michelin star restaurants in the country.

The northeast of the country is known for its meats and sausages (rookworst, metworst) and heavy rye bread, the west for fish (smoked eel, soused herring, kibbeling, mussels), spirits (jenever) and dairy based products (stroopwafel, boerenkaas), and the south for stews (hachee), fruit products and pastry (Limburgse vlaai, apple butter, bossche bol).

[7] Differences were in the use of what was locally available; milk and butter—from the low-lying grasslands of Holland and Friesland—were used in the Netherlands, in comparison to bacon fat used in German countries and England, and oil in Southern Europe.

[8] The common people ate half-liquid brij or porridge, potage (consisting of root vegetables, peas, herbs, meat and fish) and soppe (vegetable/meat/fish paste, thickened with bread).

The replacement of gruit for hop, a German innovation, extended shelf life, turning the Low Counties into a major beer exporter.

[12] The Dutch still celebrate Vlaggetjesdag (Flag Day) each spring, when fishermen go out to sea to capture the annual herring catch: Hollandse Nieuwe.

The cookbook De Verstandige Kok (or The Reasonable Chef), published in 1667, reflects this, and further more shows that meal started with green salads and cold or warm cooked vegetables with dressing, butter, herbs or edible flowers, and continued with numerous fish and meat dishes, including exotic ingredients such as dates, rice, cinnamon, ginger and saffron.

[22] In the 20th century, the availability of mass education meant that girls could be sent to the Huishoudschool (housekeeping school), that teach them to cook cheap and simple meals, leading to an increased uniform and plain look of the Dutch diet.

Historically, the direct access to the sea made fish readily available, as well as spices, coffee, chocolate and sugar shipped from the overseas colonies.

Duivekater is a moist doughy white bread from the Zaanstreek in North Holland which is eaten with butter; the recipe goes back hundreds of years.

Cheese that are certified with these protected names must be produced in Holland using traditional methods with milk from Dutch cows and must undergo a natural aging process.

[citation needed] The traditional alcoholic beverages of this region are beer (pale lager) and jenever, a high proof juniper-flavored spirit that came to be known in England as gin.

[31] A notable exception to the traditional types of Dutch alcoholic beverages is also native to this region: advocaat, a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy.

The provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel and Gelderland north of the great rivers are the home of northeastern Dutch cuisine, which is generally known for its many kinds of meats.

The coastal regions of Friesland, Groningen and the parts of Overijssel bordering the IJsselmeer also include a large amount of fish in their traditional dishes.

Kruudmoes, a traditional food with buttermilk, pearl barley, bacon and herbs in which rookworst is processed, is local to Gelderland (in and around the Veluwe) and Overijssel (in Salland).

Typical examples for the region include kruidkoek (such as Groninger koek), Frisian suikerbrood (with chunks of sugar), Fryske dúmkes (cookies with anise, ginger, and hazelnuts) and spekdik (small pancakes with metworst and bacon).

Friese Nagelkaas (Friesian clove cheese) is a notable example, and the variant made with skimmed milk known as kanterkaas has been granted a protected designation of origin.

In bars and restaurants, however, uitsmijter is a popular dish: two eggs fried with bacon or Gouda cheese, rosbief (rare roast beef, thinly cut), ham.

[42] Other popular toppings are filet americain (a finely ground raw lean beef with the addition of mayonnaise, mustard, paprika and other spices).

Dutch thrift of the 1940s and 1950s, when the country was rebuilding the destruction of World War II, led to the famous standard rule of only one cookie with each cup of coffee.

Presumably in the late 1940s even the then-Prime Minister, Willem Drees, served coffee and one biscuit to a visiting American diplomat, who then became convinced that the money from the Marshall Plan was being well spent.

Mergpijp is an elongated pastry consisting of cake, cream and jam or purée, covered with a white layer of marzipan that is dipped in chocolate on both ends.

At more formal borrels bitterballen are served, a miniature variant of the kroket (croquette), deep-fried ragout-filled balls with a crunchy layer of bread crumbs.

Common spirits include Jenever (originally distilled malt wine and the precursor to Gin, nowadays frequently made with industrially produced alcohol), Brandewijn (brandy) and Vieux an imitation Cognac.

The old-fashioned Dutch dinner for the lower class consists of one simple course: potatoes, meat and vegetables—known under the acronym "AVG" (aardappelen, vlees, groente).

Vegetable stews served as side dishes are for example rodekool met appeltjes (red cabbage with apples), or rode bieten (beetroot).

From the 17th to the 19th century workers worked 10 to 16 hours on farms or in factories in unheated rooms, hence these meals are very heavy on calories and fat and were meant to replenish a laborer's energy.

On New Year's Eve (Oud en Nieuw), Dutch houses smell of the piping hot oil of deep-fat fryers used to prepare oliebollen and appelbeignets (a kind of apple fritter) – not to be mistaken for the appelflap which are made of puff pastry.

Oliebollen are yeast dough balls, either plain or filled with glacé fruits, apple pieces, raisins, and sultanas are served with powdered sugar.