The Dutch eat relatively early starting from 5 to 7 p.m., families mostly eat together around the dinner table. A typical Dutch dinner meal consists of potatoes, meat and vegetables, served with gravy. Dinner is often followed by a dessert in the form of yogurt or coffee.
Haring or 'Hollandse Nieuwe' (Dutch new herring) is probably the most famous Dutch food. If you like fish you should at least try it once. The raw herring is served together with chopped raw onions and gherkins.
The term stems from restaurant dining etiquette in the Western world, where each person pays for their meal. It is also called Dutch date, Dutch treat (the oldest form, a pejorative), and doing Dutch. A derivative is "sharing Dutch", having a joint ownership of luxury goods.
Most Dutch people still take a packed lunch to work, typically consisting of a sandwich with brown bread and cheese (known as a bruine boterham met kaas) and half a pint of buttermilk, with a piece of fruit. Dutch office workers often eat a similar meal in their office canteens.
A typical Dutch breakfast consists of bread, whether or not toasted, with cheesemeat butter and sweet toppingslike chocolate spread, sprinkles and flakes. In addition to a sandwich, Dutch people also often eat rusks, gingerbread, currant bread or a plate of porridge.
Dutch food culture is heavily based on meat, bread and potatoes. It is not unusual for the Dutch to eat bread in the morning and afternoon, and end the day with potatoes, vegetables and meat.
As ambassador of Dutch Cuisine, Chef Angélique Schmeinck also brings the five principles of culture, health, nature, quality and value back into the menu.
What is a Dutch Platter? Well, aside from tasty food, a Dutch Platter represents a chance to feast with friends and strangers in the hope of making new friends out of the strangers. Breaking bread, so to speak, is a fabulous way to open minds and doors.
Dining is fairly formal in the Netherlands. Table manners are Continental -- the fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating. Remain standing until invited to sit down. You may be shown to a particular seat.
Rye bread is healthy
Before wheat bread became the main type of bread in the Netherlands, rye bread was part of the main meal. But eating a slice of rye bread every day isn't a bad idea. In a number of ways, rye bread is even healthier than wholemeal bread. For example, it contains more fiber and less carbohydrates.
1. Poffertjes. Probably one of the most famous Dutch dishes, Poffertjes are small pancakes, baked in an iron skillet, and traditionally served with melted butter and dusted with icing sugar. You can enjoy these all year round, but Christmas and New Year are typically the best times to have them.
Tillage-based crops include potatoes, kale, beetroot, green beans, carrots, celeriac, onions, all the common kinds of cabbages, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, endive, spinach, Belgian endive, asparagus and lettuce.
Popular beers in Holland include Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel while wines from the Apostelhoeve and Slavante vineyards have gained some notoriety. A traditional Dutch spirit is Jenever – it is a straight gin that has a fiery taste.
When meeting someone in a casual setting, it is common for people to say “Hoi” ('Hi') or “Hoe gaat het?” ('How are you? ') Meanwhile in formal settings, the most common greeting is “Hoe gaat het met u?” ('How are you? ').
A broodje haring – herring, onions and pickles in a burger bun – is the quintessential Dutch hangover food. This traditional snack is often sold as street-food, so it should be easy to find. A light dash of mayo sometimes serves as an added comfort for soaking up the night before.
Broodjes: The Dutch Sandwich.
The Dutch love for sandwiches — be it as broodjes or boterhams — comes from a much older, ancestral love for bread. Bread was namely a hot topic in the 17th-century Netherlands, and we still see that today.
The Dutch colonial empire (Dutch: Nederlandse koloniale rijk) comprised the overseas territories and trading posts controlled and administered by Dutch chartered companies—mainly the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company—and subsequently by the Dutch Republic (1581–1795), and by the modern Kingdom ...
The "Dutch diet" comes from Dutch dietary guidelines
The key takeaways are straightforward: Eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and dairy every day. Eat legumes and fish weekly. Replace refined grains with whole grains.
Essentially, you should be loading up on vegetables, fruit, dairy, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish, and unsaturated fats—and limiting saturated fats, red and processed meat, sugar-containing beverages, alcohol, and salt, Croll says.
Bread plays the star roll here. An average Dutch family might go through multiple loafs of bread a day. One man could eat 6-8 slices of bread for breakfast and again for lunch.
It's safe to say Dutch people love their cup of tea, they drink about three cups a day on average and 90% of the population are tea drinkers.
Standard working hours in the Netherlands are from 9 AM to 5 or 6 PM, Monday through Friday. By law, employers cannot require employees to work more than 12 hours on a given day, with a 60 hour weekly maximum. Employees in the Netherlands cannot be required to work on Sundays.