Traditional Dutch Food for New Year’s Eve | Oliebollen the Dutch Doughnut - CulturEatz (2024)

FAQs

What do the Dutch eat on New Year's Eve? ›

Oliebollen, Netherlands

In the Netherlands, fried oil balls, or oliebollen, are sold by street carts and are traditionally consumed on New Year's Eve and at special celebratory fairs.

Oliebollen are Dutch pastries similar to doughnuts. These deep-fried treats are typically filled with raisins and dusted with powdered sugar. Some modern variations are served with berry filling, but this is a traditional recipe. Oliebollen are a popular treat on New Year's.

Oliebollen are a traditional Dutch delicacy eaten during winter. Oliebollen, literally translated as 'Oil Balls' are also known as Dutch Doughnuts.

He also traces its origins to the oliekoek that arrived in America with the Dutch settlers in the early 18th century. By the mid-19th century, the doughnut looked and tasted like today's doughnut, and was viewed as a thoroughly American food.

The traditional meal of black-eyed peas and rice, known in the South as Hoppin' John, dates back to the mid-1800s in South Carolina, a popular area for plantation owners. Historians believe people who were enslaved brought these West African beans with them and replanted them on American soil.

Looking for prosperity? As Southern tradition dictates, black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread represent pennies, dollars, and gold, respectively, so eating them together on New Year's will keep your purse full all year long.

Around midnight, the traditional New Year donuts may be served. They are usually filled with jam or pudding. But for New Year's Eve, a few are filled with mustard and other unexpected flavors. If you get one of those, you may expect a lot of luck in the upcoming year.

Originating in Spain, the tradition of eating grapes at the stroke of midnight is believed to welcome good fortune and prosperity in the new year. It's known as "Las doce uvas de la suerte," or "The twelve grapes of luck,” and each of the 12 grapes represents a month of the new year.

History of the New Year's Dive

The dive in Scheveningen, thus taking a dip in the North Sea in the winter cold, started in 1965 on the initiative of Jan van Scheijndel, the ex-Canal swimmer of the Swimming Club Residentie. The dive was taken by seven participants at the time.

Klootzak meaning

Klootzak literally translates to “scrotum”, and is used to describe anyone (or anything) that could be considered irritating, annoying or disagreeable.

What does Jol mean in Dutch? ›

Dutch and German: variant of Bolle . French: from Bol(l)o, a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name composed of the element bolo 'friend', 'brother'.

What is the translation of "booger" in Dutch? en. booger = neuspeuter.

With the Spanish, French, and British making claims on land in the newly found “Americas,” the Dutch began to build forts along the North (Hudson,) South (Delaware,) and Fresh (Connecticut) Rivers. The forts gave them a place to anchor while collecting the produce of North American resources.

Here's what they had to say on the subject: “Doughnuts are deep-fried cakes with a long European history and roots in still earlier Middle Eastern cuisine. They were introduced to America by the Dutch in New Netherlands to America as oliekoecken (oil cakes or fried cakes).

Per capita, Canadians eat the most doughnuts compared to all world countries. The large number of Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada (over 4,600) significantly contributes to this consumption rate.

The Dutch take New Year's Eve very seriously, and a key component to sparking those NYE vibes is, of course, fireworks. In the Netherlands, fireworks can be heard almost all year-round. However, the frequency of those loud bangs in the night tends to increase throughout December as we get closer to the end of the year.

With the main components of the dinner being seen as bringing both progress and good fortune, it's no wonder why so many Pennsylvanians pick pork and sauerkraut to be their first meal of the year.