Product Description
This volume of 200 recipes offers a complete cross-section of Dutch home cooking. A whole chapter is devoted to the Dutch Christmas, with recipes for unique cookies and sweets that are a traditional part of the festiviti… More >>
The Art of Dutch Cooking
Written by admin on July 31st, 2010 in Cooking, Food & Wine.
Tags: Cooking, dutch
C. Countess van Limburg Stirum has written an interesting cookbook discussing the food of the Netherlands. I’m part Dutch but know nothing about their food other than those cute windmill cookies you can buy at grocery stores. With relatively few Dutch cookbooks available, I was eager to purchase this book. Overall, the cookbook is interesting, and the author admirably describes the food and food-related customs of the country. However, her writing is choppy and difficult to understand at times. Admittedly, the writer’s first language is probably not English, but the American publisher should have done more editing. Although no photos are included of the recipes, a number of the author’s hand-drawn pictures are included throughout the cookbook. The pictures are fairly odd, portraying a rather old-fashioned Holland. The cover, for instance, depicts people eating raw herring in a scene that could be straight out of a Rembrandt painting.
The recipes are intriguing but often incomplete, expecting the reader to understand Dutch ingredients and techniques without much explanation. For example, a number of recipes call for boiled ham or beef, without any details. A large portion of the recipes also call for eggs or seafood, so non-fans of those foods may not enjoy this book. In sum, you’ll probably really enjoy this cookbook if you’re interested in learning more about Dutch food and culture. On the other hand, actually making the recipes may be problematic, as the recipes are written somewhat poorly.
Rating: 3 / 5
It is a great collection of Dutch recipes. Dutch cooking is not a widely known cruisine and this book will introduce it to more people. Being part Dutch I really enjoyed it and used many of the recipes.
Rating: 5 / 5