Probably the best day I had on our spring trip to the Netherlands was our visit to a farmer's market in Arnhem. We went to the market during the day, after we toured a real working flour mill (windmill) and visited a horse butcher (that post is coming soon). That evening, we had a barbecue at our friends' home in Hilversum.
Arnhem is a city southeast of Amsterdam, not too far from the German border. We were invited by one of my readers, and now new friend, Annette, who is a young mother of two boys.
Annette is a chiropractor in Arnhem (apparently chiropractors are quite rare in the Netherlands). Interestingly, Annette lived in Plano, Texas, just like I did (she grew up in the Netherlands but spent a few years in Plano and Dallas after high school). We also realized we had the exact same Phil & Ted stroller (only different colors). We bonded instantly!
I'm grateful that Annette was kind enough to take the time to tour us around. It was so fun to see where she shops for food. Since she is a WAPF member, she's very discriminating about where her food comes from.
The Dutch don't really call this a “farmer's market” like we do. They just call it a market. These open-air markets are very common throughout the Netherlands. And as you will see in the photos, the market stands are much fancier than what we are used to here in America, with fancy glass cases and computerized cash registers.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day. Very warm and sunny for the Netherlands. The children stripped down to their skivvies and played in the fountain (if Kate had been with me, she would have been playing there, too.)
Lekker is a Dutch word for delicious. If you go to a restaurant in the Netherlands and you enjoy the food, make sure you tell the waiter that the food is “lekker”. You'll definitely get a smile.
There were lots of eggs, but Annette said she didn't think all of them were from chickens on pasture. It was so helpful to have a tour guide.
Some of bread was real sourdough bread, although most of it was made with commercial yeast.
Obviously, there was tons of cheese at the market. You can't believe the variety!
If you look to the right of the guy's head, you will see the words GRASKAAS. That means “grass cheese” and it's what we call grass-fed cheese, cheese that is from cows eating grass. It's very cold in Holland during the winter so the cows are fed hay. But in the spring and summer, they graze on pasture.
Annette buys her raw milk at the Saturday market. She just buys one liter per week. I was astounded by this. We go through about a liter a day!
This is the man who sells the raw milk. Yes, one man.
As you can see, raw milk is not common in the Netherlands at all. What you find at the supermarket is pasteurized, homogenized milk. They have been brainwashed like we have that raw milk is dangerous. When I spoke to my Dutch friends about raw milk, they made a face and said, “But won't you get sick from drinking that?”
I saw a lot of skim milk, margarine and soy milk at the supermarkets, too. There were ads everywhere for “zero fat” yogurt. Obviously it's the same multinational corporations that have hoodwinked us here in America that are over there pushing their processed foods (yes, skim milk and other low-fat foods are processed junk foods).
It is no wonder that I rarely saw a wide face among the Dutch children. They had narrow palates and many had braces and/or glasses. Annette said she herself was raised in the '80s on margarine. And yes, she had to wear braces.
Annette also buys her butter and yogurt from the man who sells the milk.
The Demeter brand is organic and the cows are fed grass whenever possible.
Every week when they go to the market, Annette's older son gets his favorite treat: liverwurst (liver sausage).
They had a variety of different kinds of liver there — from wild boar liver to jack rabbit liver.
He is so lucky that his mom found out about the Weston A. Price Foundation when she did. When I was a kid, I ate liverwurst every week — this is what I attribute to my straight teeth (I never needed braces).
The wild boar liverwurst was lekker! If the American border control weren't so ridiculous, I would have stuffed my suitcases full.
Apparently there are wild boar that run loose in the Netherlands (we have them in America, too — they are very common in Texas). They can be a menace so it's actually a good thing to hunt them so they don't overrun the forests. If you haven't had wild boar, it's good eating!
There was also an incredible variety of fresh seafood. I've never seen so many fish with the heads on in once place (except for maybe at the Bocqueria in Barcelona).
If I lived there, I would make fish stock every week!
We ate fish pretty much every day for the two weeks we were in the Netherlands. You can get smoked fish or eel sandwiches at most cafes and delis.
My favorite fish, by far, was the raw herring (haring). They take raw herring, remove the heads and guts, and throw them in a bucket of salt water. I was told that they can stay in the salt water for up to a year.
You just pick it up by the tail, dredge it in raw onions, and down the hatch! I know may not sound appetizing to eat raw, fermented fish, but it was truly delicious.
And remember, when you ferment food, you not only bring out more flavor, but you greatly enhance the nutrition. If you go to Holland, you absolutely must try the herring.
We also had to have stroopwafel. Not exactly a traditional food… they are made with refined white flour and sugar-syrup. They were invented in Gouda in the late eighteenth century. These are what Dr. Weston Price called “the displacing foods of modern commerce”.
Annette's son didn't really know what to make of the stroopwafel. I don't think he had ever had it before — maybe once or twice? He didn't seem to love it like he loved his wild boar liverwurst.
I had a few bites, and it was very good, but I'll be honest, I wanted more herring and cheese.
Enter to Win Dutch Grass-Fed Cheese
There are just a few more days left to enter to win a selection of 4 grass-fed cheeses that I brought back from Holland. An $80 value! Click here to enter now!
SO fun! I am surprised to see the low-fat agenda happening over there too. It’s so sad :(
Is there a good American source for liverworst or braunschwager (spelling?).
Yes, US Wellness Meats makes grass-fed liver sausages
I’m looking forward to reading your blog and learning from you.
—cindy
So nice to read a post from an American about the Netherlands! I am dutch and a wapf chapter leader not far from Amsterdam. If I knew you was coming, I would have given you a tour as well and would have taken you to a real farmer market, they do exist and it’s where you can get organic produce. Raw milk is hardly available in shops, but easily from the farmers themselves, there are also some milk supplie machines where you can get raw milk. As a family of 5, we get about 10 liters a week. Milking cows in the Netherlands are hardly solely grass fed, to make them give more milk they get extra feedings, especially during milking time, summer or not.
So if you are coming again someday, you are welcome!
Hi, Iris, Thank you so much for the offer. I will take you up on it! I plan to come again soon — maybe as early as this fall. I’ll email you!
I loved hearing about the farmer’s market. It looks like so much time. I’d love to try the fermented herring. Fish is my favorite and I’m a huge fan of fermented foods.
What a wonderful day! Everything looks so delicious!
This made me so nostalgic for my trip to the Netherlands about 20 years ago! I would love to go WAPF-style next time. Lekker!
I emailed 5 friends!
I also follow you on Twitter
Laura,
Make sure you go and post these on the actual contest page otherwise they won’t get counted!
That is soon! I’ll check with my friend and the other Amsterdam chapter leader, I bet she will like to join us!
What an awesome adventure!! Having been to Europe lately (Czech Republic – my inlaws live there) I can attest to the ‘nonfat veg oil’ mentality. It’s so sad!! Fortunately my inlaws have their own garden and eggs, the meat they buy there is not CAFO and my MIL made sure she had plenty of butter in her fridge for me! I couldn’t even begin to imagine living there (DH keeps mentioning it…): all milk is UHT shelf stable, I’m not sure how to find organic produce, etc… I did try a commercial plain yogurt made from cream and it was AMAZING!! So delicious and creamy-tasting.. same with butter: it tasted of fresh cream even though it was probably not grassfed and not organic… oh well.
Ahhh I love the Czech Republic. One of my favorite places in Europe is Český Krumlov. Have you been there?
This post made me so happy, like a little kid! I live in NL and have such a hard time connecting to others but to see people also interested in WAPF and the amazing raw milks and the same kind of butter I use… also Loverendale makes THE BEST full fat kwark, it’s truly delicious! Looking at your photos of Holland just makes me smile… I adore your blog (long time lurker here) and visit often, just never said anything before. Guess I just wanted to say hi!! HI :-)
My trip across Europe starts in Italy, and so far i love it ! Nothing beats home made stuff! Same spaghetti’s i was eating at LA Italian Restaurant are 2 times better ! Next comes Czech Republic Beer and fuzz cheese ! Dutch food ? Maybe il change my plans to include it as well !
If you are going to Tuscany try to stop at Ankhura:
http://www.ankhura.com/
It was the best vacation of my life! They will even do cooking classes, truffle hunting tours, and wine tasting excursions. We did it all and it was amazing.
This place is so beautiful.
OHMYGOSH!!! I WANT TO EAT IT ALL!!!!! :-D
Great post! I love living vicariously :) Thanks.
I miss the European markets! Not to mention the raw herring.
I really miss the raw herring! I am going to try making it at home.
I never made it myself but my grandmothers always did..I’m looking forward to reading your post once you do..
Very informative post – your photos are beautiful!
Great blog. I was thinking, that Europeans are offered the low fat products in the supermarket but at least they have the OPTION to buy raw milk, raw milk cheeses and many traditional products. They are not illegal in almost all of Europe as they are in many US states and Canada.
During and after World War II there were severe famines in Europe, and the US came to aid the starving masses through the Marshall Plan, supplying food products and financial aid. . Along with that came the margarine, and other yummy American :”foods of commerce” as Weston Price called them. This is one way that these products infiltrated the European food chain.
Some of the younger generation seems to have been brain washed, not only from US introduction, but also from the current ‘science’ and western medicine which also promote artificial foods of commerce. They are also cheap.
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But many people buy the healthy products or they wouldn’t be offered for sale. Gourmets, chefs, and those who appreciate ‘fine’ foods, want the food for the TASTE. Not only do traditional foods have taste, vs. lack of it…they taste wonderful and are a delight to cook with… . Not like soy and corn oil laden products which are tasteless and are not health promoting..
I am grateful for those merchants who make the traditional foods available for sale.
Sylvia Onusic
I live in Plano, TX! I would love to eat more raw local dairy, grass-fed finished meat, as well as fermented goods. I cringe when I see or hear, “low fat, no fat,” etc… It’s crazy…
Oh, what a beautiful market, just gorgeous…. oh and all that CHEESE !!! lol
This pics are so fabulous! I am wondering- who won your awesome looking cheese prize?!
How fun! I’d love to visit the Netherlands! We are going to Italy in a few weeks…I am excited to go to the “farmer’s market’s” there!
This looks like heaven!
It’s interesting to see how the low-fat diet is spreading to other countries. I like how you say that low-fat milk is processed junk food. I’ve never thought of it like that. I just saw this article about daycare centers in Colorado – http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/07/dolls_three_races_colorado_day_care_centers.php
The article’s main focus is about dolls, but I saw something about milk in there that caught my attention. “Children over age two must not be served whole milk without a note from a doctor”. It’s ridiculous that this country is so scared of fat that we have to have notes from a doctor in order for our kids to be able to have some. Maybe this is why so many people who eat a whole foods diet tend to homeschool their kids.
My oldest daughter is 3 and is in a preschool on our army post. I cringe when I see some of the things they are feeding her. I can’t tell her not to eat lunch there and I can’t send our own food, but I do tell her not to drink the milk! I explained how it is bad for her health and how we drink the milk that comes from our cow and it is healthy for us (we are part of a herd share and drink raw milk). The teachers told me that they are still required to pour her a glass of milk every time it is served, wether she drinks it is up to her.
Yes! I can’t believe i ever drank skim milk!!
Cheeseslave- are all Dutch cheeses grass fed? My favorite cheese is aged Gouda and I could not discern on Frigo’s website if the cows eat grass. (That is the brand I can get in my area.)