Hostfamilies in the Netherlands

Ordering bitterballen while enjoying a drink on the terrace, eating oliebollen with the family during New Year's Eve, and relishing the first Dutch New herring of the season. For us Dutch people, this sounds completely normal, but foreigners find it strange. Which typical delicacies do they actually find peculiar?

• Bitterballen

Bitterballen are beloved snacks when you're sitting on the terrace and enjoying a drink. This treat is also appreciated abroad. However, what foreigners (and many Dutch people) don't understand is where the name "bitterbal" comes from. In the past, bitterballen were eaten with a bittertje, a strong herbal alcoholic drink. Now they know why it's called that!

• Stamppot

We Dutch people love stamppot, especially when the weather is cold. But for people from abroad, stamppot is completely incomprehensible. Why? They find the way we make stamppot inexplicable. We cook potatoes, vegetables, and fry a piece of meat. They don't find that too strange. But then we mash everything together into one big mass, and that's what they find remarkable. And if we also make a well in the middle for gravy, they're almost falling off their chairs in amazement.

• Stroopwafels

If you let someone who is not from the Netherlands taste a stroopwafel, they'll never want anything else. The most famous cookie from the Netherlands is often referred to as the "best thing ever" by many. Before the Dutch introduced these delicious cookies across the border, foreigners had never heard of them. Nowadays, one of the first things they stock up on is a delightful stroopwafel.

• Hollandse Nieuwe

Every year, herring enthusiasts eagerly await the arrival of the Hollandse Nieuwe herring. Dutch people love herring so much that they consume about 75 million herrings annually. If you tell people abroad about this, they will be surprised. They find the idea of grabbing a raw herring by the tail and eating it anything but appealing!

• Oliebollen

How do you explain to someone who is not from the Netherlands why we eat oliebollen around New Year's Eve? Whether we buy them or make them ourselves, oliebollen are simply a part of it. Although the oliebol is typically Dutch, there are many variations in other countries. Germans have their Berliner bollen, Italians and Spaniards enjoy sweet pastries, and Americans have their donuts. Foreigners are particularly impressed by the fact that an oliebol contains fewer calories than the name suggests. However, it's not the healthiest snack you can think of.