Uniquely Dutch

Q: What is more dutch than Gouda Cheese? More than wooden shoes?

A: Oliebollen.

This morning I was in Wageningen and saw an Oliebollen stand, and, I succumbed to the temptation. The problem was, they had many different kinds: apple-bollen, oliebollen, oliebollen with raisins and currents, apple-flappen, kersbollen, etc. This complicated problem was resolved by deciding to only sample two kinds today, and hopefully another day come back and try another kind. And again! Below are a few pictures of the situation:

Oliebollen have an interesting history. Based on Wikipedia and a few other dutch sites, it appears that there are actually two theories about the origin of the oliebol. The first one is that the early germanic tribes (Friesians and Batavians) ate these oily delicacies between December 26-January 6 to ward off the sword of the goddess Perchta and the ill effects of other evil spirits. People who ate the oliebol would have an oily stomach and causing Perchta’s sword to glance off. Another theory is that the oliebol was introduced to Northern Europe by Portuguese Jews fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition. The Portuguese Jews ate these oily cakes symbolically to the oil lamps in the Temple. The earliest known recipe is found in the cookbook titled de Verstandige Kock published in 1667.

Regardless of the history, the tradition is good.