A Guide to the Netherlands’ Festive Foods

10/04/2025
Food

The Dutch culinary calendar is punctuated with seasonal treats that mark various festivities and traditions.

Oliebollen: New Year’s Delight

As the year draws to a close, street vendors across the Netherlands set up stalls to sell oliebollen. These deep-fried dough balls, often filled with raisins and dusted with powdered sugar, are a quintessential New Year’s Eve treat.

Speculaas: Spiced Holiday Cookies

Traditionally baked for Sinterklaas (the Dutch precursor to Santa Claus), speculaas are spiced shortbread cookies imprinted with festive designs. Their rich flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves evoke the warmth of the holiday season.

Hollandse Nieuwe Haring: A Spring Tradition

Come spring, the arrival of Hollandse Nieuwe herring is eagerly anticipated. This raw herring, caught between May and July, is celebrated with festivals and enjoyed with chopped onions and pickles.

Asparagus Season: The White Gold

In early summer, the southern regions of the Netherlands celebrate the harvest of white asparagus, often referred to as “white gold.” This delicacy is typically served with boiled eggs, ham, and a buttery sauce.

Embracing the Seasons

Participating in these seasonal culinary traditions offers a delicious way to engage with Dutch culture and experience the country’s festive spirit firsthand.

Share this Article:

Leaning, Listing & Lovingly Crooked: Amsterdam’s Most Tilted Houses

Why Amsterdam’s Houses Lean Amsterdam was never built on solid ground. Beneath its streets lies soft, marshy soil, shaped by water and time. To keep the city standing, builders drove millions of wooden piles deep into the ground, enough to hold up everything from canal houses to palaces. It worked beautifully. Mostly. Each building stands […]

The Canal Belt: How Amsterdam Built Its Golden Age (One Canal at a Time)

A City That Was Designed, Not Discovered Amsterdam didn’t grow by accident. It was planned, sketched and rolled out with confidence, canal by canal. In the 17th century, ships returned loaded with spices, sugar and stories from faraway shores. The city filled with merchants, craftsmen, sailors and ambition. Amsterdam needed room, but not chaos. So […]

From Lost Bread to Local Legend: The Story of Wentelteefjes (and the Amsterdam Café Keeping It Deliciously Alive)

Comfort Food With a Long Memory Some dishes survive because they’re clever; others because they’re comforting. Wentelteefjes, the Dutch take on French toast, survive because they’re both; a golden, cinnamon-scented way to turn old bread into something irresistible. What began as a practical trick in ancient kitchens has since travelled the world, adopting new names, […]