[Coldplay rules]

Hello all,

I'm a newbie and I love this website....
My parents are going to Amsterdam for a few days next week and was wondering what kind of foodie gifts to ask them for ?

Thanks

[jacqueline]

Hi,

You could ask your parents to bring you some "stroopwafels"a very famous and popular cookie in Holland that I have never seen abroad. It is a cookie with two layers of thin biscuit with a layer of sugar cane syrup in between which is best served lukewarm with a nice espresso.

The adress I pasted at the bottom is of a very beautiful chocolate shop in Amsterdam.

If you like licorice Holland is known for its diversity from very sweet up untill double salted licorice ( most foreigners don't really like the taste of it but if you are up for some adventure!).
Let me know if you need more adresses or tips.

Jacqueline

Koninginneweg 141

1075 CM Amsterdam

+31(0)20-4709805

mail@artichoc.nl

www.artichoc.nl

[MJBodell]

If you like licorice the De Bron company makes great sugar-free varieties.. They have the traditional salty, hard, chewy... there are many varieties. Also, if your parents are willing, they have amazing cheese..
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[Debbie]

My husband always brings back licorice from his business trips there. He loves it - I hate it.. Probably the only food thing which I really cannot eat... or stand the smell of....

He loves the salty types, which we hadn't known about till moving here. Each time he has to bring back heaps of licorice as the people in his office are crazy about it and they have a feast after each trip.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Coldplay rules]

Thanks for the suggestions....

What kinds of cheese would you recommend from Holland (preferably ones that do not need to be refrigerated) ?

[birgit]

I'd recommend very old Gouda -- it has a consistency similar to parmesan cheese, but a more buttery taste

If you like chocolate: there are chocolate granules called „Haagelslag“ in all imaginable chocolate colors. They're usually scattered on buttered bread for breakfast.

It's not exactly as dutch as cheese and wooden clogs, but: inherited through the dutch colonies there are lots of great indonesian restaurants worth visiting. And there is as well a wide range of indonesian products in the grocery stores.

[CP]

I'll second the old Gouda suggestion. The grocery stores carry young and old goudas, but the cheese shops of Amsterdam offer a wide range of aged goudas similar to how here in the dairy state of Wisconsin aged cheddar can be had anywhere from 18 months to 2, 5, 7, 10 years.

Whenever I go to Amsterdam, I like to pick up bottles of the condiments commonly served at the frite stands - Fritsaus and Curry Ketchup. They sell them in plastic bottles so they're easy to transport in a plane.

One other fun gift for foodies that you'll probably never see outside of Holland is the flessenschraper. This is a plastic rod with a half moon rubber spatula affixed to the end which is used to scrape the last bit of sauce out of a jar. I was going to take a picture of mine and post it to my blog to show you what I mean, but funny enough Wikipedia has already done the work for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_scraper

I don't think they cost more than a euro and make easy to pack, fun gifts. I think I bought them at HEMA which has a couple of stores in Amsterdam.

[CanFoodie]

Hi Coldplay,

I'm a newbie here (this is my first post!) but I had to jump in and second the vote on "Haagelslag". My Dutch friends always bring boxes of these chocolate bits when they visit me in Canada. Great fun. They are just like chocolate sprinkles, but real chocolate (make sure you get the real chocolate ones). My favourite are the white and dark chocolate mix, although I haven't tried many others. We sprinkle them on buttered toast. Quite yummy! My kids love them (if I leave them any).

[Leo]

Greetings Coldplay!
Another vote for glorious old Gouda.. the nbest of all and then there is Leyden,(sp?), Edammer, and the same with seeds (cumin, mustard) Tasty
So many treats.. speculaas, butter cakes and almond/marzipan filled biscuits. Stroopwafels are good. As are the wide range of Indonesian products (hothothot). Along with some really good mustards.
Geneever (intensely flavoured gin) if you are into spirits.
Strange items include mayonnaise in a toothpaste type tube.
If space isn't a problem, I was given a really nice fondue type pot, burner and serving dishes from the Netherlands.

Enjoy your presents!
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Vorrei quello che stanno mangiando loro.

[swan]

This is funny, we don't consider that strange, mayonaise in a tube ! Also tomatoketchup and mustard comes in those tubes and they are usually the really cheap but oh so yummy kind!!!

We also do very good pickled onions, small white ones called 'zilver uitjes'or slightly bigger yellow ones called 'amsterdamse uien', for sale in all supermarkets.
I second hagelslag, dutch peanutbutter from the brand 'calvé', dutch chocolate, liquer from the 'bols'brand or the old 'van wees'.

Everything from the shop mentioned before 'HEMA'(unerwear, cheese, delicatessen, their smoked sausage is famous but you can't take that home, just buy a 'half warm'one and enjoy just as it is!, socks, babyclothing, homewear, they are great!). You could also get a cheese slicer there, or a 'stamper'(masher) for ypur potatoes, the list is endless.
Dutch apple pie, stroopwafels, and don't forget to eat a 'kroket'!

[Coldplay rules]

Thank you all for your helpful tips and suggestions !

I wasn't greedy and I asked for only 4 things:

* Gouda - the older the better !
* Stroopwafels
* Uniquely flavored licorice
* Hagelslag

I used the helpful http://www.typicaldutchstuff.com/ for package sizes and prices.

I'll let you guys know how everything was.

[Debbie]

Mmmm, kroketten... now I am starting to feel hungry and my mouth is watering. Yum! Might have to try and fit a trip in before too long, so delicious with chopped fresh onion and mayonaise and mustard and the spicy sauce (like bbq sauce but better!)....
_________________
If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[swan]

Deb, sweetheart, the sauces you describe are usually eaten with 'fricandellen', the fried, sausage-like ling 'things' , and that spicey-sauce? we call it 'curry'!
Kroketten are those other 'thingies', best discribed as 'ragout' made with veal or beef or sometimes chicken, rolled into a thick sigar-like shape, breadcrums all around and deep fried. best eaten on its own (Hot! Dont burn your mouth!) or on buttered fresh white bread with mustard.

Ah, once in a while every Dutch household likes a 'vette hap'(fatty bite)