Sure, I am Always Talkin’ Food, but I teach NT2 (Dutch as a second language) on the side. Mainly to young foreigners who came to Amsterdam for or with love and intend to stay. For privacy reasons the names in these columns are fictitious.
Many Dutch proverbs no longer have any relation to the reality of younger generations. The phrases seem unfamiliar to them, stemming from a past when life was very different.
In Dutch we have, for example, many expressions that refer to the shipping industry, in centuries gone by the driving force under the Dutch economy.
From 'schoon schip maken’ (make a clean sweep/start over) to ‘het over een andere boeg gooien’ (take a different course; literally: with the ship).
Then there are expressions that draw a dividing line between current generations. For older people, they have meaning because the words were once used by them regularly.
Like the expression ‘het kwartje is gevallen’. (the penny dropped)
The younger Dutch no longer know a kwartje. This coin, a quarter of the Dutch currency gulden, disappeared in 2002 with the advent of the euro.
But not only that.
Even if they know the kwartje, they probably don't understand why it would drop.
Around the beginning of this millennium, the telephone booth disappeared from the Dutch streets. Even before that, the coin deposit had been traded in for a calling card. Until then, one could make a phone call in a public phone booth by throwing a kwartje into a slot in the device. You dialed a number and no sooner than the call was answered, the coin would fall through the slot into the machine.
Het kwartje was gevallen.
If there was no answer, it stayed in the slot and could be taken out again.
The dropping of the kwartje took on the meaning that certain new information had been processed.
The so-called aha moment.
A process that sometimes requires a little time, just like it used to take to walk to the landline phone in order to pick up.
Giorgio from Rome usually takes his time to let new information sink in. This may require an entire lesson. But as soon as he gets to this aha moment, he now smilingly remarks of his own accord, ‘Aha, het kwartje is gevallen!’
Food lingo
de slagroom - whipped cream
zoet - sweet
hartig - savoury
de kippenlever - chicken liver
de kweepeer - quince
Aha, maritozzi!
The food trend forecasts for this year have been published: budget food, sustainability and indulge food are the themes for 2023 - at least according to the media.
A food item that falls into the latter category is the maritozzo, which is experiencing a modest hype in Amsterdam. This Roman pastry of an Italian brioche filled with whipped cream is found in an increasing number of stores in the city.
The OG is sweet and was sold first by the Italian Salvo on markets and in selected coffee bars. This week Salvo opened up its own Italian bakery/lunchroom in Amsterdam-West. Not only with sweet maritozzi, but also with savoury ones. Filled with ricotta instead of whipped cream and topped with artichokes, for example. The newly opened restaurant Metro in Amsterdam-Noord also features maritozzi, both sweet and savoury. (chicken liver and quince, anyone?)
And speaking of brioches, they too are popping up everywhere. Aha, we have a trend!
Salvo Bake House, Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat 9-11 HS. Open: Wed-Sat 9 AM-4 PM, Sun 9.30 AM-4 PM.