What to eat in the Netherlands
A culinary checklist for the Netherlands: raw herring from street stalls, crispy bitterballen, hearty stamppot, and Indonesian rijsttafel.

[ ] Try Hollandse Nieuwe herring
    Mildly brined, exceptionally buttery virgin herring caught in late spring. Order it from outdoor fish stalls (*vishandel*) and eat it raw by dangling it into your mouth by the tail, topped with chopped raw onions and pickles.
[ ] Try bitterballen
    Deep-fried croquette spheres encasing a velvety, molten beef ragout seasoned with nutmeg. They are the quintessential bar snack in brown cafes, served piping hot alongside sharp whole-grain mustard.
[ ] Try kapsalon
    A legendary Rotterdam invention created by a local hairdresser: a layer of crisp fries smothered in doner meat and Gouda, melted under a broiler, then buried in crisp lettuce, garlic sauce, and fiery sambal.
[ ] Try stamppot
    The cornerstone of Dutch home cooking: fluffy mashed potatoes mashed with kale, sauerkraut, or carrots and onions (*hutspot*), served with a crater of rich gravy and a thick slice of smoked sausage (*rookworst*).
[ ] Try snert (split pea soup)
    Rich split-pea soup cooked slow and low until thick enough for a spoon to stand upright. It is laden with celeriac, leeks, pork belly, and slices of savory smoked sausage.
[ ] Try kibbeling
    Bite-sized chunks of white fish dipped in spiced batter, fried until golden, and dusted with herb seasonings. Served right out of the fryer at seaside shacks with remoulade or garlic sauce.
[ ] Try frikandel speciaal
    A skinless minced-meat sausage deep-fried until crisp on the outside. Ordered "speciaal", it comes slit down the middle and stuffed with curry ketchup, creamy mayonnaise, and finely diced raw onion.
[ ] Try aged Boerenkaas
    Protected farmhouse cheese crafted from raw, unpasteurized milk on traditional Dutch farms. Aged varieties (12+ months) are firm, crumbly, and studded with crunchy salt crystals and rich nutty nuances.
[ ] Try broodje kroket
    A soft white roll cradling a long, piping-hot beef croquette. Locals flatten the croquette slightly between the buns until the crispy shell cracks open, splashing it with mustard.
[ ] Try Groninger mosterdsoep
    A velvety cream soup originating in the northern province of Groningen, starring local coarse-ground sharp mustard and leeks, finished with crispy bits of cured bacon.
[ ] Try an Indische rijsttafel
    A colonial Dutch-Indonesian feast consisting of 10 to 25 small sharing bowls—beef rendang, pork satay with peanut sauce, fiery sambal eggs, and pickles—surrounding a central mound of jasmine rice.
[ ] Try savory Dutch pannenkoeken
    A massive, platter-sized pancake where ingredients like thick-cut bacon, mushrooms, and Gouda are cooked directly into the batter. Locals uniquely drizzle the savory pancake with dark sugar beet syrup (*schenkstroop*).
[ ] Try a fresh stroopwafel
    Two ultra-thin baked dough wafers sliced horizontally while smoking hot and sandwiched with gooey caramel syrup infused with butter and cinnamon. Best purchased warm right off the market press.
[ ] Try poffertjes
    Fluffy, quarter-sized yeast pancakes made with buckwheat flour, baked quickly in dimpled cast-iron plates. Served piping hot in batches of ten or twelve, buried under powdered sugar and melting butter.
[ ] Try Dutch appeltaart
    A tall, spiced pastry pie packed to the brim with tart apple chunks, raisins, and cinnamon, finished with a classic lattice crust. Always order it with a generous dollop of unsweetened whipped cream (*met slagroom*).
[ ] Try a Bossche bol
    A legendary giant pastry from 's-Hertogenbosch in Brabant: an oversized choux pastry ball stuffed to bursting with fresh whipped cream and coated entirely in glossy dark chocolate.
[ ] Drink koffie verkeerd
    The literal "wrong coffee"—a Dutch-style cafe au lait where warm milk outweighs the coffee. Served in a tall glass, invariably accompanied by a single crunchy speculaas biscuit.
[ ] Order verse muntthee
    A hearty bouquet of fresh spearmint leaves steeped directly in boiling water inside a tall glass tumbler, served with a small jar of honey. A modern cafe staple found on every terrace in the country.
[ ] Try hot chocolate with slagroom
    Rich, velvety Dutch hot chocolate crowned with a massive swirl of fresh whipped cream. The traditional winter warmer enjoyed after ice skating on frozen canals or brisk beach walks.
[ ] Try jenever with a kopstootje
    The historic juniper-flavored spirit that preceded modern gin, served in tulip-shaped glasses filled to the meniscus brim. Pair it with a beer for a *kopstootje* ("little headbutt"): bend down hands-free to sip the brim, then chase it with a pilsner.
[ ] Try Dutch speciaalbier
    Beyond mass-market pilsners, explore local craft ales, Trappist beers brewed in Brabant monasteries, and seasonal Autumn bocks (*Herfstbok*) loaded with toasted malt and dark caramel notes.

Checklist from Unload: https://unloads.me/c/food-netherlands