A taste of the Netherlands

Before I started my college career in Davis in 2011, my family and I moved to over 10 different houses in 6 towns, either in the Netherlands, California, or New York. Regardless of where I was, I grew up with hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), stroopwafels (caramel wafer cookies), poffertjes (mini pancakes), among other Dutch treats. Every time I visited my relatives in the Netherlands I would come back with my duffel bag stuffed with these goods, which also got me questioned by border security every time… must be very suspicious to have 12 boxes of chocolate sprinkles in the scanner! So when a friend told me about the Bake Oven selling Dutch goods in Winnipeg, I was absolutely infatuated with this store since I could continue spoiling myself with some of my favorite things.

Hagelslag, or chocolate sprinkles, is one of my food staples. This is legit chocolate, not sugary nonsense, and with bread and butter is it quite delicious! As a kid, sometimes I’d make hagelslag sandwiches to bring to school for lunch and it would confuse many people in the states; one person even asked if I was eating ants. I like to add hagelslag to a variety of things including poffertjes, which are mini dutch pancakes, where at home I use a prepared mix box for the batter and a specialized frying pan made for this purpose. This pan was with my family for as long as I can remember, and they gave it to me before I moved out. After filling up the pan using a squeeze bottle with the poffertjes batter, I use a toothpick to flip them to cook both sides. Can’t go wrong with adding berries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, maple syrup, or hagelslag!

Back in California, I would go to the World Market to get hagelslag if I was out of stock and desperate, but something I really love about the Bake Oven here in Winnipeg is that they even sell raw herring! It is the first time I’ve seen herring prepared like this outside of the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, you can find herring stands selling them raw and fresh (head and insides removed) with onion or pickles on the side, sometimes even in a hot dog bun. The fish itself is typically soused, or soaked in a mild preserving liquid. I’m not sure why I love this extremely fishy slimy treat so much, but I could easily gulp these down like a seal. Another classic Dutch favorite is gouda cheese. Cheese is so prominent in the Netherlands, that the people hold “kaasmarkts”, or cheese markets. There are different types of kaasmarkts in the country; the only photos I have to show are displaying the edam cheese, also very delicious! Below are some old photos from my previous trips in the Netherlands:

Another treat in the Netherlands is seeing European birds and I couldn’t end this post without mentioning them. Below are just a few from my aunt’s backyard. I find the European Robins particularly cute, a helpful garden visitor who supervises yard work in return for worms in the dirt. There are also tit birds, in the same taxonomic family as chickadees and titmice, named so due to their small size. In Europe, these tits are most commonly the Blue Tits and the Great Tits – absolutely adorable birds that nest in tree cavities or nestboxes. Their names are an extra bonus that helped me get more views on my flickr photos for these species!