Your trip wouldn’t be complete without Dutch apple pie. It’s delicious! Here at the Noordermarket at a place 'Winkel’ you can find the best ‘appeltaart’ or ‘appelgebak’. For the best Dutch treat, try it with some whipped cream. The recipes for Dutch apple pie go back centuries. The first Dutch Apple pie was discovered on a painting, which was painted in the Dutch Golden Age in 1626. The recipe for Dutch apple pie in medieval times in that cook book was almost identical to the one that we now use in the kitchen. Yes, it’s that old! In the Netherlands there are two varieties of Dutch Apple Pie, a crumble pie called Appelkruimel and a lattice style pie called Appeltaart. Both recipes are the same in that they typically call for flavourings such as cinnamon and lemon juice. The difference you find is in the texture not in the taste. The basis of Dutch Apple pie includes a crust on the bottom and around the edges, which is then filled with delicious pieces of apple, then cinnamon and sugar are mixed into the apple filling. On top of the filling, a place strands of dough to cover it and then a final lattice topping is added to hold the filling in place. It can be eaten warm or cold. But cold apple pie is more common in the Netherlands. Is your mouth watering already?

Dutch apple pie

When your finished with your delicious apple pie, take a right on Prinsengracht. 

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Take a right onto Herengracht. Stop at Proeflokaal Arendsnest.

Beer from Amsterdam has a long history. Because of the lack of clean drinking water in the Middle Ages and the fact that milk turns sour quickly, Amsterdam inhabitants drank beer instead of water. Even children. The beer did not contain as much alcohol as it does today. In fact they drank beer, like we drink water. In general Dutch people drink a lot of beer. In the Netherlands a person drinks on average 74 litres a year. That’s quite an large amount! Amsterdam played a big role in the beer trade. Only Amsterdam was allowed to import special beers, which gave it more less a monopoly over the beer trade. Since the Golden Age of The Netherlands Dutch beer has become a major export product. This commercial focus and international style has made Dutch beer famous all over the world. Traditionally, beer in Amsterdam is served in 3 types of glas: Kleintje, a small beer, Fluitje or pijpje which is a thin glass or Vaasje or Amsterdammertje which is used to serve outside. In The Netherlands, small and large breweries come up with new beers every year. Many of them are made specifically for the time of year, and so they are called seasonal beers. They are only available during a short period. They are called Spring bear, White bear and Herfstbok. You're standing now in front of ‘T Arendsnest. ‘T Arendsnest is a tasting room with only Dutch beers. There are over 100 different beers and 30 on draught. You can taste Holland most famous pilsner Heineken, but also many others. Let’s get drunk!

'T Arendsnest

Go back a little and take a right onto Blauwburgwal. Continue walking straight ahead. 

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Continue walking straight ahead on Lijnbaanssteeg.

Turn left onto Spuistraat and walk to the corner of this street.

Continue walking on your left you will find a cheese shop. Stop here.

In the Middle Ages the Dutch started to export their cheese. Since the 17th century Holland is known as a cheese producing country. The most famous cheese from Holland is probably Gouda. The name refers to a round wheel like orange and yellowish cheese. Do you know it? Gouda cheese doesn’t necessarily have to be a Dutch cheese, made of milk from Dutch cows. In fact, most of the Gouda cheese in your local supermarket was not made in Holland. There’s now so much cheese called “Dutch Gouda cheese”, that a Dutch cheese makers organisation asked for legal protection for the name Gouda. Since October 2010 cheeses labelled Gouda Holland and Edam have received official geographical protection. This means that you can be sure the cheese was made in Holland from the milk of Dutch cows, that they were produced in a traditional manner and aged in the Netherlands. On many farms in Holland, Dutch cheese is still being made in traditional style. The cheese that is traditional called ‘Boerenkaas’, in English ‘farmers cheese’ and is made by hand. So if you want to bring a real Dutch cheese home with you, you can either buy a cheese that says Gouda Holland or Edam Holland, or better yet, find a real Boerenkaas in one of the local markets here or in this shop in Amsterdam.

Gouda cheese

Continue walking till you reach Damrak. You will find Febo on your left.

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The Dutch fast food chain Febo sells fast food in a unique way: it keeps its products warm in small compartments of a vending machine. All you do is put coins into the automat and open the door to receive your tasty snack. No waiting in line, no waiting until your order is ready, Febo is the true fast food. Febo has been preparing and selling his products since 1941! Johan de Borst from Amsterdam started Febo while he was working as an assistant in a bakery. The name Febo is derived from Ferdinand Bol, the name of the street where Johan de Borst wanted to start his first shop. It was very important that he had an hygienic working space and he oversaw the kitchen until he was quite old. Even now, his grandchildren are on the board of directors. Now there are 22 fast food Febo shops in Amsterdam and 60 in total across The Netherlands. Febo is particularly popular among the drunk Dutch crowd late at night. Febo’s most popular product is ‘kroket’ ‘croquette in English, a small deep-fried roll filled with ragout. The ragout is made by adding stock to a roux, containing spices, vegetables and meat. The coating of breadcrumbs, covered with egg white. Other famous Febo products are Bami, a roll filled with spicy Chinese noodles, vegetables and chicken, Frikandel, a long roll made of minced beef and pork and Cheese souffle, a pastry crust filled with hot tasty cheese and many types of burgers and of course the Febo french fries. Febo is very cheap. This fast cost between 1,20 and 3,00 euros. Now let’s have some!

Febo

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Turn right here. Turn right at the first street. You will find Wyand Fockink bar here.

Interested in tasting some different jenevers? At this charmingly small decorated tasting room you can try their many liqueurs and jenevers. Jenever is been Holland’s national spirit since the 17th century. It was a Dutch physician who thought of adding juniper berry to the common brandewijn, something what in England is known as ‘brandy’, a name derived from the Dutch word. In doing so, he created the first type of gin. Classic Dutch jenever is made by distilling grains and malt wine. Different grains can be used like barley, wheat, rye and corn. The taste of Dutch jenever is rather neutral with a hint of juniper, a bit like wodka. There is old jenever and there is young jenever. The different procedure and ingredients give old jenever a softer, malty flavour, more colour and often a higher percentage of alcohol. Jonge jenever is best drunk in a cold glass, with ice or mixed with a soft drink, like coke. In Amsterdam, jenever is traditionally ordered together with a glass of beer. This combination of beer and jenever is called a ‘blow to the head’ a kopstoot in Dutch. You drink both slowly, taking a sip of jenever, followed by a sip of beer. NEVER drink a Jenever like a shot. Let’s try some Dutch Jenever who is famous in Holland for being an ‘old man’s drink’!

Wynand Fockink Bar

Go back a little and turn right. Then turn right on Damstraat. You will find some nice Chocolate here. 

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Do you love chocolate? Amsterdam will fulfill your chocolate dreams. In Amsterdam, there’s a wide variety of wonderfully delicious chocolate shops, there’s tasting sessions, you can go on chocolate tasting and you can even make your own bonbons at one of Amsterdam’s chocolate workshops. This shop is called Leonidas.The chocolates are prepared traditionally and served with the freshest ingredients of high quality. Chocolate has known Holland for quite a while now. When the Spaniards took it to Europe, it didn’t take long before the bitter cocoa drink conquered The Netherlands. The name that all Duch people associate with Dutch chocolate is Van Houten. C.J. Van Houten in 1828 revolutionized chocolate making. He invented a technique which allowed for a drink that was easier to digest and more tasty, while also making it possible to produce cocoa powder and chocolate bars that we all know and love today.

Shopping for Chocolate

Take a left and keep walking on Oudezijds Voorbrugwal. Then turn right at the end of the street. Then at the end of this street take a left. Then take a right into the alley. Keep on walking till you reach Amsterdams Koningsplein. Look for a herring stall there.

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Then at the end of this street take a left.

Keep on walking till you reach Amsterdams Koningsplein. Look for a herring stall there.

In Amsterdam, fish stands sell raw herring, a soused raw fish with a strong taste. Dutch raw herring is hugely popular in Amsterdam. In Holland, people have been eating raw herring for over 600 years. For you as a foreigner it might seem slightly strange to eat a raw fish that has nothing to do with sushi. What is herring? Herring is a small fish that is very popular among Dutch people. It is caught in the North Sea and East Sea from mid May to mid July. Then the herring will be stocked in salt and frozen, till it matures. In this way, excellent herring quality can still be eaten in November and December. When you are here in June, you can taste the freshest herring of the season, also called ‘Hollands new herring’. Now, how do you eat raw herring? In Amsterdam is typical to eat herring with raw onions and pickles. You will have it served on a paper plate, chopped into little pieces or served with bread, in Dutch ‘Broodje haring’. Traditionally however, herring is to be eaten by holding the fish by its tail, dipping it in onions and letting the slippery raw fish then slide into your mouth. Delicious! To show you how raw herring is eaten properly take a look at the video on your screen. Eet smakelijk! Bon appetite!

Let’s taste some herring

Keep on walking straight ahead and cross the two canals.

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Take left into Kerkstraat and keep on walking.

Turn right and you will find a ice-cream shop there.

On hot days it’s best to cool off with a real Dutch ice cream. Several Amsterdam ice cream shops have started making delicious ice creams. As a big producer of dairy products, it’s not strange that the Dutch make interesting ice creams. One of the most interesting ice-cream shop is Firo di Gelato. At Firo di Gelato you can order your ice-cream in Italian. Because Gelato is the Italian word for ice-cream. Gelato can be made with milk, cream, various sugars, and flavouring such as fresh fruit and nut purees. It is generally lower in calories, fat and sugar than other styles of ice cream. Gelato is known for their variety of flavours, so look in the shop. What’s your favourite flavour of ice cream?

Ice-cream

Keep on walking on Kerkstraat. Turn right at the first street. 

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Cross the canal, the Dutch treat shop will be on your left.

Can you smell it already? You’re are standing in front of a bakery! The Netherlands is known for some famous Dutch treats. You don’t know what to take home? Let me introduce you to some of our favourite treats of all time. Look at the pictures on your screen to see these treats. Let’s begin with some nice ‘Bookepootjes’, picture one. These are traditional Amsterdam cookies with biscuit, almonds and cream filling. Then ‘Kletskoppen’ is shown in picture two. These biscuits are very thin. ‘Kletskoppen’ are the Dutch version of brandy snaps and a traditional Dutch cookie. And then, the probably most famous cookie, the ‘Stroopwafel’ it is shown in picture three. These are syrup filled waffels. Delicious! Stroopwafels are best bought when recently made, and so still warm. You can also buy them at the local market. Then there is ‘Boterkoek’ picture number four. ‘Boterkoek’ is a lovely though very filling butter cake with almonds. Nice! Hmmm, Jodenkoeken is shown in picture five. Invented by a jewish baker in the Dutch city of Enkhuizen and therefore called Jewish Cookies. Jodenkoeken are traditionally sold in a large container and so can be kept crisp for several weeks. Take one home with you. Another delicious cookie is a ‘gevulde koek’, picuture six. A gevulde koek is a delicious traditional cookie with a rich almonds filling. You can properly find one here in the bakery. Last, but unmissable is in the bakery the Tompouce, picture number seven. It’s a puff pastry with an top layer of icing that tends to be orange around Queen’s Day with a cream filling. It’s hard to choose, but do you know what you are going to have?

Dutch treats

We are at the end of the tour. Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed every step of the way and discovered some new food and drink. Enjoy Amsterdam for now, and make sure to bring some of the delicious treats home with you. This tour was brought to you by whatsupwithamsterdam. A website filled with the best places to go out, to go shopping and to learn about the hidden treasures of Amsterdam.

Closing

The city of Amsterdam is full of delicious food and drinks. Food and drinks that belongs to this city. Be inspired by all the places that we are going to visit today on this audio tour. Get to know the best Dutch treats, cheese and beer and you may taste something you never had before. Get lost by learning the stories behind all these delicious goodies. Start walking and you may find food and drinks to die for. The tour starts at the Noordermarket, Winkel 43. Bon appetite!

Amsterdam

What’s up tours Amsterdam’s Food and Drinks

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