Hungry in the Netherlands....
No Food culture
Does anybody notice that food is almost no part of the Dutch culture ?! As far as I know, food is a pretty big part of any culture. There are traditional dishes and traditional meals that serve more than just an appetite. Its an occasion where people get together and celebrate these traditional dishes, in many places this can even happen on a
daily basis. ( so im not talking about holidays)
For comparison, if you look at Spain, food is an enormous part of the culture.
All the hams and tapas and rich street markets, its impossible to ignore the food. Ok, maybe Spain is the extreme example, but during the past 3 years I haven’t really noticed any tradition around food here whatsoever.
I wouldn’t count Christmas since it’s a worldwide holiday.
All the shawarmas and donners here are Turkish
Americans have junk food
English - fish, chips and rib-eye steaks
Spanish- a million different hams, tapas, etc...
Italian - no words needed.
French - weird things: escargot, snails, frogs, etc. (But they still count)
Having a food culture says more about the people than their simple need to eat. It talks about the warmness of the people, the openness, the inviting and welcoming atmosphere; Its about tradition and pride and noise.
What I mean is that the food of a culture
reflects that culture in a way.
So what’s going on over here? Is patat the core of the Dutch culinary pride? Maybe stampot? Croquets? Maybe, but I don’t think so.
If they are, then what do they reflect about the Dutch culture? What do they have to say about the atmosphere of the country and of its people?
Hypothetical question: what does a "no food culture" say about the people? Does that culture miss things that are created by a food culture?