9 Awesome Dutch Foods You Need To Try In Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is a sought-after destination with a food scene that’s often underrated. Dutch cuisine is simple, and heavy on the vegetables and meat. You’ll find a lot of bread, cheese, protein and potatoes throughout the Netherlands. Certain Dutch foods might resemble American dishes, while others are pretty quirky. Here are 9 awesome Dutch foods that you need on your radar when you’re visiting Amsterdam.
1. Stroopwafel
Popular in the Netherlands, stroopwafel is made up of two thin layers of baked dough, which look like waffles, with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. The waffle dough has flour, butter, brown sugar, yeast, milk and eggs. You can expect a stroopwafel on top of your coffee when you’re in Amsterdam.
2. Kapsalon
Pretty much the Dutch version of what you get at a Halal cart food, Kapsalon consists of fries that are topped with grilled shawarma meat, a layer of melted gouda cheese and salad greens that are dressed with a garlic sauce and sambal.
3. Vending Machine Krokets
The Dutch take fast food to another level with all sorts of hot vending machine foods. The food is locked behind glass chambers and lined up neatly in grids. The machines are coin-operated and you’ll find things like krokets, better known as croquettes — deep-fried, creamy balls — which come in all shapes, sizes and flavors like beef, veal and vegetable.
4. Oliebollen
Oliebollen is a type of dumpling made using an ice cream scoop to measure a certain amount of dough. The dough is dropped into a deep fryer. These sphere-shaped donuts are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve and in wintertime, they’re sold in the street at mobile stalls. The dough is made with flour, eggs, yeast, milk, salt and baking powder, sometimes currants, raisins, citrus zest and slices of apple.
5. Poffertjes
This Dutch treat looks like a mini fluffy pancake. Poffertjes are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. They have a slightly spongy texture and they’re usually covered with powdered sugar, butter and syrup. You might also find them with gouda cheese.
6. Ontbijtkoek
If you’re into pumpkin pie, you’ll probably like ontbijtkoek. The Dutch cake is spiced with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, succade and nutmeg. It’s mostly eaten in place of bread with a thick layer of butter on top. Since it’s on the sweet side, this Dutch spiced cake can also be eaten for dessert.
7. Erwtensoep
Erwtensoep, or Dutch pea soup, is a winter staple and a hearty meal. The recipe can vary from family to family, but the peas will always stay the same. Traditions say the goal is to make the soup so thick that a spoon can stand fully upright on its own. Besides peas, this soup is slow-cooked with different cuts of pork, leeks, celery root, potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, cloves, sausage and pepper.
8. Bitterballen
The meat-based snack bitterballen is usually made with a mixture of beef or veal, beef broth, butter, flour, parsley and seasonings. Some recipes include nutmeg and others call for curry powder. The ingredients are cooked and refrigerated to firm up. Then they’re rolled into balls, battered and deep-fried. Mustard is a popular condiment with these meaty snacks.
9. Hagelslag
All throughout the Netherlands, eating sprinkles is considered a normal everyday activity for people of all ages. Hagelslag, better known as sprinkles, come in all sorts of flavors, shapes and sizes. The Dutch way is to eat these sprinkles on top of buttered bread. Imagine a fresh square loaf of bread with a schmear of creamy unsalted butter and crunchy sweet sprinkles. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
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