The Dutch Cuisine is renowned for its complex recipes and bold flavor. This is also reflected in our standard Dutch Lunch. A boterhammetje.
If you did not grow up in the Netherlands, you probably think our lunch options are boring and bland.
I would argue however that we care a lot about the used ingredients. But at the bottom line is that a Dutch Lunch is fast, efficient, clean to eat, and affordable.
Most Dutch people like their bread soft, and either Tiger, Waldkorn (personal favorite), or a soft roll like a kadetje or bolletje. Lather some butter on there, add 1 topping, and call it done. The bread is soft, but not to soft, not sweet like classic “toasting bread” in other countries. And can be easily eaten with knife and fork if you prefer.
Americans and many other cultures would take this as a sad sight, and there are a lot of posts on Social Media mocking our simple tastes. Take for example pictures of our “sad” looking 2 slices of bread with butter and cheese in between. Or the very adventurous ham and cheese combination.
The classic sandwiches in many other countries are a combination of salty cold cuts, lettuce, oils, sauces, and many other ingredients. And 1 slice is never enough it seems. A full centimeter or two of different meat cuts is easily layered like roof shingles and stacked high.
Habits and Culture
We used to be a country that, thanks to the VOC, was extremely well supplied in spices and food from all over the colonies. A black page in the history books, where we did bad things, but there no matter how you look at it. As a cuisine and country that likes its farmers recipes and simple food, some can be traced back to the second world war, or even further back in history.
Showing off in general is frowned upon, and a classic response to complimenting ones T-Shirt would be to say for how little you got it from in the second hand store. “Ja leuk he? Maar 50 cent bij de kringloop!”
“Doe normaal” is a statement that can be heard a lot in everyday life. And means to act normal, don’t show off, don’t talk to loud, don’t be overly happy or emotional. Just act normal. My German wife hates that statement.
What is a classic Dutch lunch?
Starting from a young age, your mom or dad will pack you a baggie or boxed lunch with some bread, some way to make the topping stick, and the topping. He or she would cut it horizontally, not diagonally, that is reserved only for tosti’s, and call it done. Easy, ready and packed in two minutes. Out the door to kick your kid to school on the bike, or if you are one of those parents, to drop them off in a car.
Classic combinations that I grew up on are for example:
| Boterham met kaas | Bread, butter, cheese |
| Boterham met pindakaas | Bread, peanut butter, butter (controversial) |
| Boterham met jam | Bread, butter, jam or marmalade |
| Boterham met Gelderse worst | Bread, butter, type of sausage or cold cut |
| Boterham met Rookworst | Bread, butter, Smoked sausage slices (known from the stamppot) |
| Broodje or Boterham Bal | Bread, butter, meatball slices |
| Broodje or boterham met Ei | Bread, butter, cold fried egg (broken yolk) Bread, butter, cold boiled egg sliced Bread, butter, cold omelet |
| Boterham Speculaas | Bread, butter, ginger bread cookies |
| Boterham met ham | Bread, butter, ham |
| Broodje verse worst | Bread, butter, leftover sausage from dinner |
| Boterham pindakaas en Hagelslag | Bread, peanut butter, chocolate sprinkles |
| Broodje knakworst | Bread, sauce of choice, tinned frankfurters |
| Broodje Filet americain | Bread, “raw meat mayonnaise”, raw onions |
The bread part could be interchanged with either a soft bun, or white or brown sliced bread .
Special days where always the ones where some kind of meat was left over from last nights dinner, and I would look forward to those most of all. Also the egg versions, where the fried egg one was my personal favorite. I still make them a lot.
Peanut butter, especially the peanut butter by the brand Calve or Heleas (amazing brand name), is also a staple. It would sometimes would result in mocking from kids in your class, since the smell can stick around a bit. Don’t expect to be able to kiss your significant other immediate after eating one.
Hagelslag or vlokken, which are little chocolate sprinkles would not find their way into my lunches for the most part. Since it would often still spill a lot or require buttering both sides of the bread. I always saw it as more of a breakfast item.
The Dutch Lunch at the Office
In many companies, it is also traditional to eat lunch together at a table, and out comes the bread, and many of the combinations discussed available for you to put on the bread. This is a communal thing, and you will see CEO’s in suits sit at the same table as the interns. Eating slices of bread and their toppings of choice, and drinking a glass of milk or buttermilk. No matter the age or rank within the company.
The goal is also to not always discuss work related topics at the table, but to instead focus on personal topics. And the ever present conversation about what the plans are for the weekend. Or at the start of the week, what happened over the last one. In my experience this goal is sadly not always reached.
What is a classic Dutch Lunch in cafés?
In restaurants or cafés you will see wildly different lunch menus, and it depends a lot on where you are. But Dutch classics are the Uitsmijter, Twaalf uurtje, Tosti’s, and Broodje gezond. Which we will break down below:
Uitsmijter
An Uitsmijter is a night club bouncer, and the story goes that this food item was created to feed the hungry bouncers after standing and dealing with drunk teenagers all night.
It is three slices of bread, with your choice of egg, cheese, ham, and butter. Enough to feed even the most hungry of bouncers.
With your order at the better places they will ask how you would like the eggs cooked, sunny side up is standard. And if you would like the cheese melted, and give a choice of bread. White or brown.
Twaalf Uurtje
Translated to 12 o’clock, it means that you usually get as a starter a little soup of the day. And afterwards two slices of bread (again your choice between white or brown) with on it; butter, two krokketten or croquettes, mustard, and a little side salad decoration on the plate. Truly extravagant, and therefore also a bit more expensive in places.
Broodje Gezond
Or healthy bread roll, will be available as the healthy alternative in most snackbars. And is a classic.
Again one of the more extravagant dishes for lunch, this sandwich or roll actually comes with more then two toppings. It is either a little french style baguette, a pistolet, or it is with a soft white or brown bread roll.
It is topped with: Boiled egg slices, tomato, lettuce, raw onions, ham, cheese, cucumber, and a mayonnaise based sauce.
Because it is so healthy, you can order an extra kroket or frikandel and not feel guilty.
Tosti’s
I think every Dutch person I know has a special connection to Tosti’s, and that’s usually what you make as a first lunch at home, get with your pocket money at your local sports club. Or swaying in the kitchen after a late night out.
But a Tosti everybody will be familiar with, it is also popular around the world and known as a grilled cheese.
The only two additions we make are either a slice of ham. Kind off like the French Croque monsieur. And a butt load of sauce to the side for dipping. Again, of course it is mayonnaise in most cases. Or a classic special sauce combo, of curry ketchup and mayo. Together, but separated.
Affordable, and used to survive in college rooms without a kitchen, it is there for when you need it the most. Whether your hungover, still drunk, stoned, broke, young and old.
There is also an addition to a tosti, and that is a Vlamtosti. Or flame grilled cheese. Inside the grilled cheese is the addition of flaming hot and spicy minced meat. Which come with a lot of Sambal (usually Sambal Oelek) added. About as spicy as we can handle. The Turkish migrants have also brought over an invention in most Shoarma businesses, and that is to make a tosti out of a pita bread, cheese, and iceberg lettuce (cooked with). Combine that with some garlic sauce, and its a winner.
The Dutch Lunch menu is therefore, in my opinion, always solid. But maybe that is also simply because I have been born into it. Here in Bavaria Germany where I live since several years. The lunch is a lot more complex and often hot, with heaps of meats and lots of items that I would consider an evening meal. Delicious but not really something for the day to day.
I classify myself as a boring Dutch guy when it comes to food. And if I am alone, I would eat meat, potatoes and vegetables 6 days of the week. With one pizza night.
I don’t like rice, I don’t like al dente pasta, love organ meat, so take everything I say or recommend with a grain of salt.
What does your lunch look like in your everyday life?
Did you move away from Dutch roots and embrace complex lunches and stacked sandwiches?
Share some of your favorite lunches or poke some fun at the Dutch Cuisine! We can take it.