Dutch cuisine

Dutch cuisine (Nederlandse keuken) is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by its location in the fertile North Sea river delta of the European Plain, giving rise to fishing, farming (for crops, dairy and meat) and overseas trade. The Burgundian-Habsburg court enriched the cuisine of the Dutch elite in the 15th and 16th century, so did the colonial spice trade in the 17th century. In the 17th and 18th century, Dutch cuisine played a pivotal role in the spread of coffee in the world as the Netherlands pioneered in establishing gardens for coffee cultivation in their colonies and popularising the concept of coffeehouses for the masses. And the development of the Dutch process chocolate in 1828, which was instrumental in the transformation of chocolate to its solid form (which was up till then drunk as a liquid), started the modern era of chocolate. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Dutch food became designed to be economical and filling rather than pleasing, which was the result of the rise of housekeeping schools, where girls learned to cook in such manner. Also, Dutch food production focussed increasingly on efficiency, which became so successful, that despite its size, the small country became the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products by value behind the United States. Due to this focus on efficiency, the Dutch obtained not only a reputation that they were feeding the world, but also that their cuisine had a bland taste. Due to the availability of water and flat grass land, The Dutch diet contains many dairy products such as cheese, and is relatively high in carbohydrates and fat. During the 20th century, Dutch cuisine and diet changed significantly. Initially influenced by the eating culture of its colonies (particularly the Dutch East Indies), and later by globalization, it became cosmopolitan. Most international cuisines are represented in the major cities and there is a renewed interest in pleasing tastes.