DUTCH CULTURE

Dutch Cuisine And Where To Go

Living in a new country does not only mean making new friends and discovering your new surroundings but also testing out the cuisine. To introduce you to the Dutch cuisine, we have compiled a guide with some proper dutch dishes, local ingredients, and where to find them in Utrecht.

Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis serves fries with several different toppings you can choose from; additionally, they are considered the best fries in the Netherlands. Manneken Pis offers Vlaamse Friet which is a type of thicker fries: nice and crispy from the outside and soft on the inside. Some proper dutch toppings are oorlog special (made with peanut sauce, mayonnaise, and onions), Joppiesaus (made with mayonnaise mixed with mild curry spices), and Garlic sauce, and last but not least simple mayonnaise. You will probably notice through your stay in the Netherlands that Dutch people are addicted to fries.

Snackbars And Cafeterias

The Dutch cuisine offers a variety of different snacks. For instance, Frikandellen are very popular, which are a sort of sausage made out of minced meat. Bitterballen are little meat snacks in the form of a little ball made out of minced, shredded meat and covered in a crust. Loempias are spring rolls that are also popular in the Netherlands. Kaassoufle and Kaastsengel are very similar, and both are dough filled with cheese. While these snacks are pretty good, a portion of fries on the side can’t be missed. Some decent snack bars in the city are Cafetaria t’Hoekje, Falafel City, and Musa’s Place.

Dutch Markets

The market is a great option to try so many different dutch delicacies. This ranges from different types of cheese to fresh fish to fresh backed waffles to the dutch mini pancakes, called Poffertjes. A fish delicacy that can be found at Dutch markets is Kibbeling, which is a dish whereby pieces of fish are fried in the dough. The biggest market in Utrecht is the Vredenburgplein market which is open every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Local Food And Ingredients

If you are on the hunt for some local food, there are several shops and even restaurants serving local ingredients. Seafood dishes are very popular within the Netherlands since the country is located right at the North Sea.

If you are looking for some local fresh seafood, the Blauwe Bar 1 is the spot to go. In terms of local groceries, the shop Local offers a variety of bread, cheese, sandwiches, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. The bread that you can buy at Local is provided by De Veldkeuken, which is a restaurant and bakery specializing in local ingredients. De Veldkeuken can be found just outside Utrecht, nearby the Ameliesweerd.

Cheese

You might already know how famous the Netherlands is for cheese, even Utrecht has its own cheese type called Utrechste Dom Kaas. Not to forget, Utrecht even has the Kaasbar, offering different types of cheese and wine. The Kaasbar is located right at the Oudegracht, so enjoy some cheese and enjoy the view.

Pancakes All Day Long

Another food that the Dutchies just can’t stop to eat are Pannekoeken (Pancakes), which are not only served in the morning with sweet toppings, but Pannekoeken are also served savory, and you can just eat them any time of the day. Right at the Oudegrachten, you can find the Pannenkoekenbakkerij De Muntkelder, which offers several sweet and savory pancakes, for instance, with banana and cheese, or if you don’t want to be too experimental there are so many different pancakes toppings that there is something for everybody.