Dutch lifestyle: living in a gingerbread house?

Gingerbread Dutch houses are world-famous. They have been immortalized in paintings and engravings, depicted on thousands of postcards and in millions of professional and amateur photographs, reproduced in countless souvenirs. But few people, even among those who have been to the Netherlands, know what lies hidden inside…

Hot sandwiches with melted cheese or ham – it’s nutritious, tasty, simple and fast, and it’s exactly what every Dutch person appreciates in food.

In any office, the sandwich maker is at the head of lunchtime snacking. At any café, a couple of hot sandwiches is the most economical option for a light lunch. Such sandwiches are surely served with ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise in a minimal quantity.

You generally wash down your lunch with milk or liquid fortified yoghurt in different fruit flavors. At the end of dinner, everyone is sure to eat at least one fruit: usually on the table are bananas, apples, tangerines, grapes, kiwi.

COFFEE CULT

For many Dutch people, coffee is practically a vital fuel. The average Dutchman drinks 159 liters of coffee in a year. In 1999, the oldest person in the Netherlands at the time, a 112-year-old woman, attributed her longevity to regular coffee consumption.

Not surprisingly, the coffee machine takes center stage in almost every kitchen. Expensive multifunctional coffee machines are not common in Dutch homes, simple drip coffee makers are the most popular because the Dutch prefer their own classic filtered coffee grown in “politically correct” countries, but roasted and packaged in Holland.

The best quality for the lowest price is a typical Dutch formula.

One of the deciding features when buying a coffee machine is having a timer. Since, as mentioned before, the Dutch are very time-sensitive and fussy about planning, the ability to program the coffee machine in advance and get fresh coffee at a certain time is very valuable for them.

Coffee in Holland isn’t meant to be washed down with sandwiches or potatoes with meat: it must be savored, and there’s a special time for that. A cup of scalding hot coffee and a light cookie are an essential attribute of the coffee break, and a miniature spoon, concentrated milk, and sugar are also possible.

The presence of a pleasant companion is also appreciated. In some families it’s customary to eat just one biscuit with one cup of coffee. The coffee preparation area is a place where in addition to the coffee machine there are filters on an elegant stand, various cups and coffee spoons, as well as the coffee itself in a transparent jar.

According to locals, once you try Dutch coffee, it’s impossible to forget it. On the same principle that the French, Spanish and Germans test and evaluate wines, the Dutch annually test the local coffee offered in many coffee houses and bars around the country.

Longing for national coffee is a common feeling among the Dutch living abroad and also among those who often go on business trips or travel a lot. Many Dutch people say that on principle they try to drink as little coffee as possible when they are away from home.

THEY’LL SQUEEZE OUT EVERY LAST DROP OF DESSERT FOR DINNER..

Dinner is the only chance the Dutch cuisine has to show off its variety.

Modern Dutch national cuisine is two-faced. On the one hand, this is a traditional Dutch farmers’ meal: boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes, boiled vegetables red cabbage, broccoli, green beans, carrots, peas, leeks, chicory , sausages or roast meat beef, pork, chicken, turkey and a salad of fresh vegetables. Dutch recipes combine these indispensable ingredients in a wide variety of combinations.

On the other hand, it is a colonial culinary heritage – Indonesian cuisine, which is all kinds of combinations of rice or pasta – “bami” with fresh vegetables, minced meat, various sauces and spices.

Immediately after the evening meal, the Dutch start with dessert. It could be nonfat yogurt with no flavorings, pudding, ice cream, or another national pride: moi.

Vlä is a custard made according to a special recipe. Vlah can be chocolate, vanilla, chocolate-vanilla, caramel, and whipped cream flavors.

If you are fortunate enough to dine with a Dutch family, note the dexterity with which one of those present will squeeze the last drops of yogurt or moisture from a thick paper bag.

At your perplexed look the Dutch will be embarrassed and deny that it is their way, or respond with a Dutch proverb: “I paid for it”.

IT WON’T TAKE LONG TO MAKE DINNER

Despite the fact that the Dutch do not like to eat the same thing day after day, food is not a cult to them. Unlike, for example, the Italians, they eat to live, not live to eat.

This is why the process of cooking for most Dutch people is a necessity, not a pleasure and a creative process. And despite the fact that Dutch people are very hard-working people, not everyone will agree to spend more than 30-40 minutes for cooking the dinner.

LET’S GO TO THE SUPERMARKET

The assortment of grocery stores fully reflects the realities of life. In any supermarket you can buy ready-to-cook foods. And we are not talking about semi-finished products, although there is no shortage of them either.

Fillets cut into equal slices, marinated meat, raw vegetables chopped and mixed in the right proportions, pre-cooked potatoes in spices, which only need to be fried, ready-made fruit salad, freshly squeezed juice, a mix of different types of green salad, which just need to be dressed with sauce to taste – all this, fresh and high quality, makes cooking easier and faster, and most importantly – makes any recipe affordable.

On each package there’s a detailed instruction on how and how much to cook it. In general, it is clear that food processors and complex cooking machines are not very popular in Dutch kitchens.

And even if they are available in the house, they are only used on special occasions. Blenders are more frequent, but also not regular guests on the kitchen table.

For those who do not want to or can not spend on cooking dinner, even a quarter of an hour, too, have an easy solution – already cooked dishes that just need to warm in the microwave or oven.

Pizza, lasagna, pancakes, meatballs, fried fish, boiled shrimp, various national dishes – this is not a complete list of delicacies, preparation of which requires absolutely no effort. And these meals are not prepared in the cooking department they are brought in freshly cooked, packed and chilled, but not frozen, every day.

Often on Sundays, when no one wants to stand at the stove or even wait by the microwave, the Dutch order food from the nearest Chinese restaurant or so-called snack bar.

The snack bar assortment is not extensive, but close to every Dutchman’s heart. A mustard croquette or onion fricandelle and fries with applesauce are enough to keep any Dutchman happy on a Sunday night or when he’s away for a home-cooked meal.

A croquette is a cylindrical culinary dish with a fresh beef filling, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.

After World War II, croquettes became an extremely popular fast food in the Netherlands, resulting in a reputation for cheap food of dubious quality, whose cooking process supposedly uses meat waste, although, in fact, this is certainly not the case.

Oursson deep fryer is a long, dark meat loaf, made of different kinds of meat, generously seasoned with spices, and also deep fried.

THE DISHWASHER IS PART OF THE FAMILY

The Dutch, who by nature are economical and practical, for some reason categorically refuse to eat yesterday’s food. And they throw away all the leftovers without regret, even if they can be stored for days in the refrigerator.

Another interesting feature is that the duties of cleaning the kitchen always fall on the shoulders of those family members who have not participated in cooking.

That is, if the wife cooks, the husband cleans. If the children cooked dinner, the subsequent cleaning up is up to the parents, and so on.

Large families usually have a built-in dishwasher, so “dishwashing” is purely nominal. The machine is loaded with dirty dishes throughout the day and run in the evening.

By the way, leaving unwashed dishes or a mess in the kitchen overnight is an unthinkable precedent for the Dutch. They just can’t go to sleep knowing that something isn’t put away somewhere.

In places without a dishwasher, dishes are washed like this: they fill the sink with hot water, dissolve detergent in it, put all the dirty dishes in one place, wash them with a brush with a long handle, and then wipe them with a towel.

But this logical chain misses a very important link: the Dutch clean up soapy dishes without rinsing them under running water.

This approach is shocking to every American, watching this procedure for the first time. When asked why the Dutch do not bother to make an extra movement and rinse off the chemicals from the dishes, they usually answer that it is better for disinfecting and destroying germs.

But the real reason, of course, is to save water and electricity.

How do they live??

THE MAYOR WON’T SEND HOT WATER, BUT HE WON’T SHUT IT OFF FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER EITHER – THAT’S WHAT America IS FOR

Dutch housing is centrally supplied only with cold water, but heating it is up to each family.

Each house and each apartment has an electric or gas boiler, which is responsible both for hot water in the tap and for the heating system.

Gas systems are more modern than the electric ones, they heat water in minutes, but still not immediately. That is why some Dutch people turn on the water before they get in the shower to make it a little warmer.

But in many homes, gas is only used to heat the batteries and water is heated in an electric boiler. In this case, the water is heated overnight in a boiler of about one hundred liters, and if the next day rashly poured water, or too long to splash under the shower, or slowly wash dishes under an open faucet, by the end of the day you can stay without hot water at all.

This situation largely explains the reverent attitude of the Dutch to water and its use. And if you consider that previous generations had a much more acute problem with water, it becomes clear that for many of today’s

n the Dutch, not rinsing detergent out of clean dishes is more of a habit and a family tradition than a conscious economy.

WE HEAT ON THE SECOND FLOOR AT NIGHT AND ONLY THE GROUND FLOOR DURING THE DAY

What the Dutch really try to save on is the heating. Since gas and electricity are expensive in the Netherlands and are a tangible expense for many, the most popular practice is to turn off the heating on the second floor of the house, where the bedrooms are, during the day and to turn off the first floor heating at night.

In addition to this radical measure, there is another option: to lower the temperature in the whole house by a couple of degrees. Experts calculate that if you lower the temperature one degree inside your house, you save 7% of your total gas consumption.

In such conditions and with the windows open around the clock fresh air and regular ventilation are extremely important here it is difficult for a person unaccustomed to the harsh Dutch mores to feel warm and cozy.

Surprisingly, the Dutch themselves do not freeze! It’s probably their secret that from birth they have been toughening up, perhaps without realizing it.

Just imagine: it is always cool in the house which is especially noticeable in winter they never wrap children up outside, but simply dress them as if it were eternal summer they ride bicycles every day in the rain, cold and wind they practice sports in all weather conditions – all this contributes to the fact that the Dutch grown-ups wear barefoot shoes even in minus weather and do not even seem to notice the cold, both outside and inside their houses.

MOM, DAD, ME – A SPORTY DUTCH FAMILY

In the Netherlands, sport and an active lifestyle are a person’s best friend and constant companion.

From a young age every Dutchman begins to get acquainted with the world of sport. More often than not, parents assign their children to soccer, tennis, swimming, or ice skating, if not to all four at once.

Field hockey, korfball and volleyball are also popular among teenagers. Growing up, the Dutch go in for sports, combining it with studies or work, because they can no longer live without it.

In every city district and in every village there is a big sport club, or even more than one, which any person can join regardless of age and gender.

For example, every soccer club has more than a dozen teams, from the 4-6 year olds to the 50 year olds+.

The main club team is always in a sports league of some level, and during home games the whole county gathers at the stadium to support their team, talk with friends and neighbors, drink coffee or beer and eat Croquette with fries.

Every Dutchman spends a lot of time in sports: a few hours on average three times a week. And that does not include morning or evening jogging and daily rides on a bicycle.

The Dutch usually become “on their own” with a bicycle at the age of 3-4 years, so it is not surprising that after a few years the bicycle becomes a natural extension of every Dutchman.

What the Dutch do while pedaling their bicycles: they carry children one in the front, one in the back and a couple more in a special baby carriage and pets, move furniture, haul food from the store, and all that – in any weather, in heels, in miniskirts and office suits, often without hands, balancing between cars, buses, pedestrians and hundreds of other cyclists.

Driving a bicycle for every Dutchman is a real art and a necessity of life at the same time.

In the Netherlands, the bicycle will replace public transport and private cars for many people, because riding a bicycle is free, environmentally friendly, healthy and allows you to be completely independent of any schedule.

LAUNDRY IS ALWAYS GREAT

Thanks to this active lifestyle, by the end of the day the dirty laundry basket is filled at lightning speed, and then it becomes clear that the main helper in the house is a washing machine.

The Dutch in general, a lot of laundry: once a week, be sure to change all the beds in the house, a couple of times a week – towels, and certainly never wear the same socks twice.

In large houses, the washing machine usually stands either in the bathroom or in a special utility room, where it shares the living space with the microwave oven, with the cat or dog bedding and with the cabinet in which small appliances, ironing board with iron, cutlery set, vases and other things often needed in the household are kept.

NOT A SPECK OF DUST AT HOME, BUT SHOES ARE ONLY TAKEN OFF AT NIGHT

In general, the Dutch have an innate passion for cleanliness and order. No matter which house you enter, everything is shiny and sparkling, there is no dust, no dirt, and no pet hair.

The plumbing looks like new, beds are cleaned, things are neatly put in their places. The appliances, though rather old but it depends on the age of the owners of course , but perfectly working, are a typical sign of a Dutch home.

Since all appliances are expensive in Holland they are not in a hurry to be updated when they can be repaired. The Dutch often clean, scrub, rub, clean, check, adjust and tweak everything. They live by the principle that it is better to prevent a problem than to solve it later.

By the way, the Dutch do not take off shoes when entering the house, unless there must be so much dirt outside that no door mat would save them.

And in general the Dutch people wear shoes all day long: from the morning when they get dressed, they put on shoes or boots till the evening when it is time to take a shower and go to bed.

That means that in their street shoes Dutch people walk around the house, go to the bedroom, toilet, bathroom, cook at the stove, watch TV, take care of children. In their defense, the streets in the Netherlands are amazingly clean and washed with soap every morning.

CLEAN – WHERE THERE ARE GRAY, GREEN AND BLUE BINS

The attitude of the Dutch to garbage disposal is admirable and respectable. Most Dutch people throw out each category of garbage separately. Separating trash saves resources and energy, and greatly prevents pollution.

Moreover, according to calculations of the financiers, one kilo of separate garbage saves each Dutch citizen 5 cents. According to the statistics for 2008 the annual amount of garbage per capita in Holland is 561 kg and about a half of all garbage in the country is thrown away separately.

Food scraps and garden waste make up about 33% of total garbage, paper and cardboard 21%, plastic 21%, glass 5.2%, textiles 3.5% and the last 16% come from all other, non-separable garbage.

These figures do not include broken appliances, which weigh 18.3 kilograms per capita each year. More than half of all unusable appliances are disposed of correctly by the Dutch.

So what do the Dutch do with trash? In front of every house, whether you own it or a block of flats, there are three big, colorful trash cans.

Everything that cannot be disposed of separately and recycled in the future ends up in the gray bin.

The green bin is designed for food waste, twigs, leaves, anything that decomposes quickly and is nearly environmentally friendly. This type of trash is used to create compost, which is later used for agricultural purposes.

Before going into the large tank, kitchen waste is collected in a special bucket, which is usually located under the kitchen sink.

The bags used for “green” trash are made of fully degradable material, so they can be thrown away with leftovers. The garbage truck collects the contents of the green bins twice a month.

The blue bin is for used paper and cardboard. This bin is filled not only with old newspapers, magazines, advertising brochures and old boxes, but also with paper bags from juice or milk, previously washed and discarded from plastic lids. In the Netherlands, up to 75 per cent of raw material for paper and cardboard comes from recycled material.

Before finding a new life, the paper trash is sorted, then mixed with water, and from the resulting slurry all unnecessary elements are pulled out: plastic inserts, metal staples, etc. d.

If the subsequent destination requires it, the paper pulp is cleaned of ink. The blue bin is emptied once a month.

Since January 2010, it has been possible to sort the plastic from the rest of the garbage in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that there are quite a few restrictions on what can not be disposed of as plastic, the Dutch have responded with great enthusiasm to the initiative of the state and every month they pull out large bags of household plastic waste on the road. And plastic bottles from mineral water and soft drinks can still be cashed in at the supermarket for a small sum, as before.

Apart from some brands of beer bottles, which can also be thrown away in any supermarket for a few euros, all other glass bottles and cans are piled up in the garage or other outbuilding for a few weeks by the Dutch.

Before the glass container is sent there, it must be cleaned of residual contents and the plastic and tin closures removed. Having accumulated enough glassware, the Dutch load it into a car this justifies the use of a car instead of the usual bicycle and take it to special containers that are installed near each supermarket.

Before you throw glass into a container, it has to be sorted by color. For each type of glass – colorless, green and brown – there is a separate hole.

Because in the production of new glass the old glass is used 100% without loss of quality, in the Netherlands one billion kilograms of glass containers are produced every year, of which 600 million kilograms are recycled glass.

THE OLD TV GOES AWAY FOR A SECOND LIFE

When purchasing a particular appliance, the purchaser usually pays a tax on its future disposal. A non-functioning appliance can be taken to any store that sells electrical appliances, or turned in to your local municipality.

In the recycling process, materials such as iron, aluminum, copper, glass and plastic are sorted for reuse. All potentially hazardous or noxious items must be disposed of separately, following safe recycling practices.

Separate collection points are also set up for light bulbs, batteries and used toner cartridges. The same goes for broken cell phones. Still working, but already outdated phones are often given to charitable organizations.

WHERE DOES THE SECOND HAND COME FROM?

The Dutch donate their old clothes and shoes to the HUMANA charity. This can be done in two ways.

First, every few months a special plastic bag comes in the mail, in which you can put your unwanted clothes and shoes and put them on the road in front of your house on a specified day, from where a municipal vehicle will pick them up.

Secondly, on the territory of any, even the smallest shopping center, there are huge metal bins, into which you can drop the clothes, having previously put them in any plastic bag.

In this case, winter clothing must be packaged separately from summer clothing. After receiving a new shipment of clothes and shoes, workers sort them.

Light clothing is shipped to India, Pakistan and African countries, and warm clothing to Eastern Europe, including America, where it is sold in second hand stores.

Unsuitable clothing is cut into shreds and yarns which are then used to make carpets and blankets. About 8% of all incoming textiles are not recyclable.

Interesting notes