Belgium and the Netherlands. The next collection of parcels in Latvia on September 16-17

If you, while living in Belgium, have not yet figured out how to pamper your relatives in Latvia, here is a tip: many Belgian cities are famous for their biscuit options: almond Brugse Kletskoppen / dentelles de Bruges from Bruges or Antwerpse handjes from Antwerp, aniseed Gentse mokken from Ghent or spicy Kortrijkse peperbollen from Kortrijk.

Belgian cuisine is famous primarily for  chocolate ,  waffles ,  fries . Belgium has the largest number of  starred restaurants  per square kilometer.

Belgian waffles became famous all over the world after Expo 1958. There are two most popular types of Belgian waffles - Brussels and Liege. Liege waffles are hard, oval or round in shape, quite hearty, with caramelized sugar lumps inside ("sugar pearls"). Brussels spirits are softer and more airy, rectangular in shape, and served warm. Brussels waffles are usually served sprinkled with powdered sugar, whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, chocolate, or fruit, primarily strawberries or bananas.

Cheese

In the Middle Ages, Belgian monks were engaged not only in brewing, but also in the production of cheese. These two products were the main source of income for the monasteries. In each province, at least three varieties of cheese were developed. Most Belgian cheeses are soft and savory. The most famous varieties: limburger, remudu, erv, floref, maredsu, orval. Cheese is often eaten after a meal for dessert.

Bakery products and desserts

Rice cake

" Greek bread "

In addition to chocolates and waffles, there are a large number of all kinds of desserts in Belgium  . First of all, these are  pies  and  cakes  with  chocolate  and  fruits  and spicy  cookies . Outside the country, Tarte au riz  - a pie stuffed with  rice porridge  - and Belgian Christmas cookies are widely known  . Certain desserts, such as  macaroon  or  creme brulee , came to Belgium from French cuisine.

For dessert,  soft cheeses are also often eaten  .

• Riz au The tarte  - cake from  pastry  stuffed with rice cream
• Mattentaart  - quark pie   from  East Flanders
• Liers Vlaaike  - small  cakes  of syrup, cinnamon and flour originating from the city of  Lier
• Pain à la grecque  ( Greek bread ) - rectangular cinnamon biscuits topped with crystallized  sugar
• Speculoos / Speculaas  ( spekulas ) - spicy Christmas cookies
• Pain perdu / Gewonnen brood, wentelteefjes  ( sweet croutons ) - stale bread soaked in an egg-milk mixture and then fried in a pan. A traditional treat served on the Monday following  Epiphany . The tradition is especially strong in the  provinces of Antwerp  and  Tournai .
• Dame blanche  - vanilla  ice cream  with hot chocolate sauce and whipped cream
• Pain d'épices / Peperkoek  -  honey spice  cake
• Cougnou  - Christmas bread from Wallonia as a child
• Cuberdon / Neuzeke  ( cuberdon ) - cone-shaped raspberry candies, hard on the outside and jelly-like on the inside

Many Belgian cities are famous for their biscuit options: almond  Brugse Kletskoppen / dentelles de Bruges  from  Bruges  or  Antwerpse handjes  from  Antwerp , aniseed  Gentse mokken  from  Ghent  or spicy  Kortrijkse peperbollen  from  Kortrijk .

Dutch cuisine

Dutch cuisine  combines ancient traditional dishes with modern gastronomy. The cuisine and its recipes were shaped by favorable factors such as widespread fishing, a rich agricultural tradition and imports from the colonies. Modern Dutch dishes are characterized by simplicity of preparation, but at the same time, high energy value. All over the world there are recognizable Dutch varieties of  cheese  and  chocolate . At the same time, the cuisine is characterized by a limited variety of dishes (as for Northern European cuisines in general), and a large consumption of vegetables compared to meat. Historically, the range of Dutch cuisine has become significantly poorer at the beginning of the  20th century. , when many girls (future housewives) were taught in the so-called "housekeeping schools" to cook simple and cheap meals. At the same time, the so-called culinary diversity continues to exist, depending on the region of the country: in Texel it is lamb, Ijsselmeer - eel, in Limburg - asparagus, and in Zealand - oysters ^[1]... Although Dutch cuisine has lost some of its diversity and appeal, the Dutch boast a food culture in which high quality products play an important role. Research by the non-profit organization  Oxfam  shows that as of 2018, among 125 countries of the world, the Netherlands ranks first in the ranking of diverse, healthy and inexpensive food.

desserts

There is a wide range of dessert dishes in Dutch cuisine. Many types are similar, as in other countries: pancakes with all kinds of syrups ( Dutch  rannekoeken ,  burenongens  and  pofertye ), waffles and their local form ( stropwafli ), puff cakes ( speckoyk (English) Russian ), pies ( Limburgskiy pie ) ... There are also traditional desserts with a long history:  vl   (nid.) Russian. , olibol, Deventerskoe cookies (nid.) Russian. , "Zwoll Balls" (nid.) Russian. ... Sweets:   hopesvla (nid.) Russian. ,  salty  and  sweet (nid.) Russian.  licorice sweets ^[47] ,  boschebol (nid.) Russian. ,  Zeuvse bolus (nid.) Russian. ,  "Arnhem girls" (nid.) Russian. ^[48] .     

Warning for shippers from the Netherlands:

It is forbidden to transmit in parcels

• Narcotic and psychotropic substances and cigarettes

So don't even think about it!

Specially trained dog Duxis instantly finds weird pumped cakes and other crap.