When children ask their parent what will be served for dinner, the answer will most likely be the name of the vegetable. Since certain vegetables are paired with certain meats (i.e. red cabbage will traditionally be served with hachée, a tangy meat stew and boiled potatoes, zuurkool (sauerkraut) comes with mashed potatoes and kielbasa, or salt pork, spinazie (spinach) will be creamed and served with boiled potatoes and a meatball), the children will automatically know what the rest of the meal is going to look like.
On a, perhaps, not so separate note, the Netherlands is one of the top producers of vegetables in the world. The quality of the products is excellent and people will shop every day for fresh vegetables. Not many Dutch people have space for a garden or have the time or desire to invest in a volkstuintje, a terrain allotment outside of the city limit that can be rented for a fee. Growing your own vegetables while two miles further down the road is a huge greenhouse that produces tons of the same seems silly to many. Nevertheless, the resurgence of forgotten vegetables (i.e. old-fashioned vegetables and fruits) are making a come-back.
The links in each section will take you to a vendor or a site where you can purchase the seeds. Please know that with the Amazon purchases, a small amount comes back to The Dutch Table. It will help with some of the expenses to run this site, so we're very thankful if you do order through our links!
Dutch Vegetables
Andijvie (Curly Endive, chicory)
Andijvie is the green vegetable component of one of the Dutch's most desirable stamppots, the andijviestamppot. The green leafy vegetable is easy to grow. The outer, darker leaves have a slightly bitter taste which works perfectly with the mashed potato. You can order andijvie seeds here.Bietjes (Beets)
Bright red beets, bietjes, are eaten often with dinner. They can be boiled as a vegetable, or pickled as a side dish, or an addition to haringsalade, herring salad. Seeds can be ordered here.
Bintjes (Dutch potato)
Bintjes are Holland's most famous potatoes: they're buttery yellow potatoes with an exceptional flavor. Their starch content puts them right between starchy and waxy, making it a very versatile spud. Potatoes can be grown in buckets, planters and raised beds, so give it a go! Please click the link here to find Bintje seed potatoes.
Bloemkool (Cauliflower)
Nothing as Dutch as steamed cauliflower with a "melksausje", or a bechamel. Grow your own this year and enjoy fresh cauliflower from your garden or raised bed! To order seeds, click here.
Boerenkool (Kale)
Farmer's cabbage, or boerenkool, is better known as kale. It seems to have taken over every food magazine, salad bar and smoothie drink, but we known it best in a stamppot boerenkool. You can order seeds here.
Bonenkruid (Savory)
A typical application for bonenkruid, bean herb, is as its name indicates: with beans and other pulses. It presumably reduces flatulence. Seeds can be found through this link.
Bruine Bonen (Brown beans)
Dutch brown beans are used for two main dishes: bruine bonen met rijst (brown beans with rice), and bruine bonensoep (brown bean soup). It's a flavorful, buttery bean that holds its shape well and is easy to grow. You can order seeds here (Canada) or here (USA).
Capucijners (Dutch field peas)
Capucijners are field peas: brown, creamy peas that are eaten in a soup or as a stew. Another word for capucijners is blauwschokkers. You can order Amazon here or get a dwarf variety here. If you don't want to grow them yourself or don't want to wait that long, and prefer to get the dried variety, click here instead.
Kervel (Chervil)
A popular herb that is used in the Dutch kitchen, in soups and salads. The flavor is a combination of anise and parsley and lends a refreshing taste to the dishes. Here is a link to the seeds.
Knolselderij (Celeriac Root)
This vegetable is sometimes hard to find abroad, but it's almost a necessary ingredient in Dutch soups, especially erwtensoep, split pea soup. It's also good stuffed and baked in the oven. Here is a link for seeds, or here.
Meiraapjes (Turnips)
Meiraapjes are an old-fashioned, forgotten vegetable that is slowly making its way back into Dutch cuisine. Shredded or sliced into salads, soups, or stewed they make a great addition to your Dutch cuisine. Pick the early, small leaves for raapsteeltjes, turnip greens, stamppot. Here are the seeds.
Postelein (Purslane)
A fresh, green summer vegetable that is often served in soups and mixed in stamppots. Seeds can be found here.
Prei (Leeks)
How can we live without our leeks? Look at any shopping cart of Dutch grocery shoppers and, nine out of ten, you will see one or two healthy leeks sticking out of the bag! They're pretty easy to grow, and here is a link for the seeds.
Raapsteeltjes (Turnip Greens)
The young leaves of the turnip are a popular addition to stamppot. Pick them when they're 4 inches tall and add them in last minute - no need to cook. Get seeds for meiraapjes (turnips) here.
Rabarber (Rhubarb)
A lovely, tangy, fiber-rich vegetable that makes a great sauce to be served on the side, or added as a second component to a lovely strawberry rhubarb pie. Seeds can be found here.
Rode Kool (Red Cabbage)
Rode kool met appeltjes, red cabbage with apple, is probably one of the most traditional Dutch dishes that many remember from our childhood. Grow your own with these seeds!
Schorseneren (Salsify)
This "poor man's oyster" vegetable is a wonderful surprise if you have not had it before. Very popular in the 1970s, this vegetable has become forgotten over time, partially because of the way it tainted the preparer's hands black, gaining its popular name "huisvrouwenverdriet", house wife's misery. If you can put this minor issue aside, I highly encourage you to grow this vegetable in your garden this year! Seeds are available here.
Snijbonen (Flat beans)
Cutting beans, or snijbonen, are flat green beans. Most often served as "blote billetjes in het gras" (naked bottoms in the grass), the green bean will be cut at a diagonal angle, and a whole white beans will be tossed in for good measure, giving the resemblance of the aforementioned naked behinds. Grow your own! We've had good luck with the Roma(no) variety. Here's an Amazon link to a seed vendor or try this one. In Holland, they grow predominantly the Helda variety, but it can be harder to find. Check with your regular seed sources.
Spinazie (Spinach)
Who doesn't remember eating creamed spinach with soldiers, small strips of fried bread? Now you can grow your own spinach! Seeds are available here.
Spruitjes (Brussels Sprouts)
Loved or hated, but rarely found neutral, spruitjes or Brussels sprouts are a traditional winter vegetable and very popular in the Netherlands. Boiled, steamed or braised, they add a typical flavor. Try them in a stamppot - it's often that people who claim not to love spruitjes fall in love with them! Here are the seeds!
Tuinbonen (Fava beans)
Tuinbonen, garden beans, are slightly bitter, flavorful pulses that are found in traditional Dutch cooking. They are usually served in either a bechamel sauce, with a sprinkling of nutmeg, or sauteed with bacon. In Limburg, they're called "paterstieëne", Father's toes. They're hard to find fresh or frozen, so growing them yourself might be an option! Click here for a link.
Ui, Noordhollandse Rode (North Holland Red onion)
A beautiful blood red onion that comes from the province of North Holland. Onions are easy to grow, and this sweet but onion-y onion will make a great addition to your table and your garden! Seeds can be hard to find, but you may try Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds or SeedSavers Exchange.
Veldsla (Corn Salad, Mache)
Also know as corn salad or mache, veldsla is a type of field green. It can be used as a salad green, or as a stamppot added right to the mashed potatoes before serving. Healthy and nutritious, veldsla is also easy to grow. An Amazon link to heirloom seed can be found here.
Winterpeen (Winter carrot)
The winter carrot is otherwise known as "winterpeen". It is a larger, coarser carrot that collects sugars after the first frost and is therefore sweeter, but also more fibrous. A traditional winter dish with carrots is called "hutspot": mashed potatoes with carrots and onions. Here's a link for the seed. The variety in the US is called Autumn King/Flakkee.
Witlof (Belgian Endive, chicory)
Witlof is a slightly bitter vegetable - but that pairs beautifully with ham and cheese as an oven dish. This is not an easy vegetable to grow, as it takes some extra care, but it's worth the effort. Seeds can be found here.
Witte Asperges (White asparagus)
The "white gold" of Limburg - these white asparagus are delicious boiled and served with some melted butter, or as a soup. For white ones, make sure they remain covered until you harvest them. The link for seeds is here.
Witte Kool (White/Green cabbage)
This is the best cabbage for making zuurkool, sauerkraut, but it is also very tasty boiled and served with a little bit of butter, or a white sauce with nutmeg. Here is a link for seeds.
Zuring (French Sorrel)
Zuring, with its fresh lemony flavor, is a welcome sight in early spring, when it makes its appearance in fields and along ditches. It makes a great soup or addition to salads. Seeds can be found here.
Dutch Fruits
Aalbessen (Currants)
Rood (Red)
Rovada
Jonkheer Van Tets
Rondom
Rosetta
Stanza
Zwart (Black)
Boskoop Giant
Wit (White)
White Dutch
Appels (Apples)
Belle van Boskoop
Schone van Boskoop
Elstar
Karmijn de Sonnaville
Ananas Reinette
Red Prince
Santana
Wyken Pippin
Sterappel
Dubbele Bellefleur
Dubbele Zoete Aagt
Zoete Winterkroon
Notarisappel
Groninger Kroon
Hermien van Eibergen
Rode Boskoop
Schellinkhouter
Zoete Brederode
Druiven (Grapes)
Glorie van Boskoop
Witte Van der Laan
Peren (Pears)
Gieser Wildeman
Trosjespeer
Kleipeer
Juttepeer
Zoete Brederode
Suikerpeer
Pruimen (Plums)
Tonneboer
Mispel (Medlar)
Medlar Breda
Dutch Farm Animals
Chickens
Welsumer
Barnevelder
Cows
Groninger Blaarkop
Lakenvelder
Brandrood
Fries-Hollands
