Intro

I had already eaten for lunch. Bad idea when you want to visit the Amsterdam Foodhallen, kind of street food under a roof.

The Foodhallen are located in the heart of the city in De Hallen, a market hall type of complex with all kinds of little non-food stores. The Foodhallen are purely focused on eating on the spot, no produce is being sold.

(Street) Food trends

The New York Times once wrote about the US that “The Food Court Matures Into the Food Hall” indicating that there is a trend among developers to go away from fast food chains and to create food halls which are focusing on (local) artisan restaurants. This is exactly how I would describe the Amsterdam Foodhallen.

I have since some time welcomed and enjoyed street food as it adds new ideas and opportunities to eat quality food, basically always superior to the fast food chains and at a price level below a classic restaurant experience. And the duration of the meal is compatible with impatient teenagers, a relief for families.

But I have become a bit tired of the common street food offerings. I have seen enough burgers, pulled pork, burritos, pizza etc. on street food festivals, more often then necessary also of volatile quality. Saying that, I am still experiencing some great street food like the Bosnian Cevapcici in St. Louis / Missouri (they have opened a restaurant in the mean time), chicken curry at the Borough Market in London or from my perspective the best pizza in Bonn, Germany from PizzaPrinzip which have there base a few steps away from my home :-). But in general I have gotten a bit reserved about it.

What I see is that farmers’ markets and market halls are having more and more street food and less and less produce. As, in general, we want to spend less time for cooking, the street food phenomenon follows the trend of times.

As a fan of good produce I have mixed feelings with this trend. When I first visited the Borough Market in London a few years ago, I was amazed about the variety of products and the mix of very traditional butcher stalls and vegan entrepreneurs. Visiting it in 2019 I saw more street food than produce stalls. For me the charm of the market – its great diversity – got lost. Despite the great curry I ate there.

The foodhallen themselves

I have not counted the stalls there, but there are 21 or so. They are aligned on the sides of the hall, and in the middle there is a long row of tables and chairs to sit down and eat. A clean, pleasant ambiance with a dash of hipsterdom.

The offering did not provide a real surprise, I had the feeling that burgers, pulled pork, sushi, oysters, pizza, Asian style dumplings were dominating. But my eyes certainly overlooked one or two of the 21 food stalls. Independent of the quality of the food itself, it has a rather generic character representing somehow current trends found everywhere. I did not discover any local touch. This would turn this food hall into a distinguishable spot worth making a larger detour. Not to be misunderstood, I am not judging the quality of the individual stalls and their products, it is just that the offering is exchangeable.

The beer offering was wider than in many places I frequent, with a choice of well known craft beer brands. No surprises here as well, but I am already happy when I can spot beers which deserve to be drunk.

Unfortunately I did not discuss with any of the stall owners or staff about the lack of a local touch. Apparently it is just safer meaning more profitable to provide a low risk offering which caters for an international palate. I understand when local business people do not want to take financial risks. But it is a pity in such a creative city as Amsterdam that the demand for more local experiences seem to be so low.

The safe side has one advantage: kids and teenagers will feel comfortable and enjoy the food as the many visiting families I saw there indicated.

All in all: The Amsterdam Foodhallen are not my cup of tea as they lack a true local character, still they provide a much better choice than the usual fast food chains and kids will like it.

A little link list:

• The official website of the foodhallen
• Their Instagram & Facebook accounts
• Great article of the New York Times on the trend towards food halls
• The video from Dutchified gives a first impression
• Nellie is quite impressed of the foodhallen and she provides a wider picture in her post

The post Not my cup of tea – Foodhallen, Amsterdam / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Tourists

Markets can be a real tourist attraction. Some famous ones are for example Borough market in London, La Boqueria in Barcelona, Pike Place market in Seattle and also the Rotterdam Markthal. And the Friday cheese market in Alkmaar / Netherlands is famous as well. 300,000 tourist per year come to see how cheese trade worked in the old days. It can be a bit crowded.

The procedure

Officially the market starts at 10am, we came a bit later, had to make our way through but it was still bearable, not too many heads in the way to do photos. And not so many selfies being done by the crowd, the market scenery itself was apparently more interesting – this time.

The Waagplein square in front of the beautiful weigh house is being fenced for this occasion, so that the cheese trading can be conducted the old way along a clear procedure. Big round loaves of cheeses weighing roughly 13kg each had been stacked in an orderly manner on the square.

Men in white uniforms and hats with different colors belonging to the 400+ years old guild of cheese carriers, move in couples up to eight of those cheeses on a wooden barrow. They carry the load from the square, where the cheeses are orderly piled to the weigh house and back so that they can be transported further to the buyers. To carry the heavy load without cheeses falling off, they perform a walk which is kind of a hybrid between running and dancing. This is one of the highlights of the whole market show which was explained by a friendly lady to the audience in several languages.

Truth be told

Indeed it is a show and not everybody knows it, which creates its own little confusion. Even me, I wanted to believe that there is still some cheese retailers which buy the cheese on the spot. I was told wrong by a gentleman in the weigh house. He was producing the certificates for tourists being weighed for a Euro on a historical cheese scale. In his regular job he is a bus driver. He just finished his morning shift, and would continue driving after the market closure at 1pm. For the performance he is paid by the city and he enjoys it a lot. The city still keeps up this tradition as a folkloristic event, something he appreciates. “We need to remember how things have been” was his statement, sounding like: we are in the digital age, but there is another life as well.

The cheese itself is being brought from nearby factories by lorries to the site and being brought back afterwards.

What to think of it

Of course the whole thing is a show, a free one. Everything is fun to watch. It is not about the food itself, it is more about trade, traditions and the role of guilds centuries ago, in short. a living museum. And for me, somebody who is not a hygiene freak, I like to see that these cheeses which laid on the ground on mattresses are being sold in retail with this touch of “old days style”.

All in all: Let the show begin and enjoy a folkloristic view on cheese trade as it happened in Alkmaar long time ago

A little link list:

• The official site of the cheese market
• The cheese museum in the weigh house
• A little blog post from HolidayparkSpecials
• Some nice photos and tips on how to reach the market from Amsterdam – from A wanderlust for life
• And some more nice photos from dacemiracles.com a Japanese dancer

The post Show time – Cheese market in Alkmaar / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Scroll to the end for the map to find Albert Cuyp market

The Saturday weather was great, so the ice cream guy at the market was almost sold out but I was still lucky. And the refreshment was needed. The Albert Cuyp street with the market of the same name is very, very long. And lively. And huge. It is not a gourmet, hipster, vegan or organic market. Lots of non-food items like clothes and electronics are available. But of course I am focusing on the food part of this more than 100 year old market.

Some bloggers like “that food cray” and “ginger girl” took their time to check on the street food like stroopwafels, a thin waffle with caramel syrup, or pickled herring. I was rather strolling around to see what I could buy for cooking at home if I would live in Amsterdam.

So there is plenty of fresh fish, smoked fish and seafood. Basically I have never seen a Dutch market without lots of fish and it is often served on the spot fried in a batter with some kind of tartar sauce. Strangely enough I did not spot much cheese.

What is not to be missed on a Dutch market are the stalls with dried or candied fruit and nuts, I have no idea where this preference is coming from. Obviously there are fruit and vegetable stalls as well with a standard offering.

All the produce stalls were squattered along this street resulting in a pleasant exercise to see them all.

Even though the market is much advertised, it is not one where I would go for to find delicacies, but certainly for the daily produce it is good enough. But the vibe of the market is really great and makes a visit worthwhile. People of all kinds are strolling along worth to be watched when you are a curious person. The traders with their rather rough expression give it an authentic feel, and as it is not far from the more touristic parts one gets a touch of “real” Amsterdam. And if there is a need for a rest, all along this street there are cafés, restaurants etc. Do that only after having tried a smoothie at one of the booths.

All in all: A very lively market and a good opportunity to discover “real” Amsterdam off the beaten path

A little link list:

• The market homepage
• Description of the market by the Dutch market directory
• The Albert Cuyp Market on Wikipedia
• The market on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
• 5 things to eat at the market by “that food cray“
• Ginger Girl Says has her view on what to eat
• A list of markets in Amsterdam published by the city
• A post with pictures from Wanderblogger
• My other posts of Dutch markets

The post Popular – Albert Cuyp Market, Amsterdam / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Scroll to the end for the map

An accident

I just finished my visit of the Noordermarkt, a famous market in Amsterdam, when I tumbled across the Lindengracht market, just a little block away. This outdoor market stretched along in the middle strip of the Lindengracht street. At the beginning the friendly Theo Thijssen monument welcomes the customers. Theo Thijssen was a famous Dutch teacher coming out of this neighborhood called Jordaan not far away from the city center.

Contrast

The first thing which stroke me was the contrast to the Noordermarkt. I just had left it a minute ago with some hipster, urban and organic memories. And now at the Lindengracht I entered a world which I would call “classic”. The offering was more “usual”, somehow between hipster and supermarket. Still it got my attention, and the narrow, long stretched walking strip with stalls on the left an right created its own pleasant buzz. The traders had also a more robust appearance, and were used to a clientèle which was probably more focused on a quick shopping for quality then on elaborate explanations of each product – but maybe this is just my own cliché.

Having such a contrast of two markets next to each other, the question of preference comes to mind. It is a similar question to: “what is your favorite market?“. I tried to give an answer in an interview conducted by the food & market blogger Marjorie R. Williams. Markets have so many aspects which make them likable or not. This might be the location, buzz, offering, customers, community building, traders, opportunities to sit down and relax with friends etc. At the Noordermarkt I liked the quality of the food, and at the Lindengracht market the down to earth buzz. Therefore my choice will depend on my mood on any given day.

Offering

Even though I had not the chance to visit many Dutch markets, I found two distinct, characteristic elements often not available elsewhere in this quantity: there is always a large selection of fish and dried or candied fruit of all kinds. This was also the case at the Lindengracht market. And I discovered that vegetables chips are great as well, in this case carrots, green beans, parsnip and kohlrabi.

Of course the market had a complete offering as well, including flowers, bread, meat vegetables, cheese and the like. There was also a little street food, I saw a stall which was only orange: oranges in bags, fresh orange juice in bottles and cups. Fresh fruit pieces in transparent plastic cups were served as well, a product which has spread across European markets and is now widely available. Simple salads were made on the spot and ready to eat.

All in all: Peak into the Lindengracht market to have a contrast to the more hipster and famous Noordermarkt around the corner – it is a nice one as well

A little link list:

• An introduction to the market with all relevant data by Amsterdam.info – they consider it to be the best food market in Amsterdam
• A great photo gallery from Scenes of a Public Market – Check the other galleries as well, it is worth it
• A little Amsterdam market guide

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“They are Slow Food” the guy from Zürich told me when tasting the oysters from the nearby sea for the bar he wanted to start in his home town. The oysters just been collected, they were not farmed. “Slow Food” indeed describes the organic Noordermarkt fairly well. It is located near the city center of Amsterdam (see map below). It is surrounded by nice cafés, a play ground and the large Noorderkerk church, offering kind of a Mediterranean, relaxing feeling – at least on sunny days.

Due to the EuroPride 2016 canal parade the market was smaller than usual, but still worth a visit.

The oysters

Coming back to the oysters. The stall owner gets them from the North Sea, they are not farmed, they are wild ones, just collected off the ground, obviously during low tide. The helpful staff opens them up to be eaten on the spot, with lemon, Tabasco, pepper or just natural. A glass of champagne from Germany – yes! – complements them. Good start of the day. These oysters are not as famous as the ones from France, but the owner drives them even down to Switzerland, where they can be resold with a nice margin. And I learned something new about oysters: the “pregnant” ones taste creamier than usual, not necessarily to my liking. The vendor had unusual signs with pregnant and non-pregnant mermaids to represent them – check the picture gallery.

Walking along

After this first meal and longer conversation with the Swiss guy and his upcoming bar business, it was time to move on and discover the other offering. Summer is always a good season for a market visit, colors are bright due to nature’s bounty, people are in a good mood and have time to enjoy the food. The traders, as I have observed on other Dutch markets as well, have a nicely swift, direct and sarcastic humor. Not really gentle, but very funny. The crowd looks pretty much like health conscious middle class, not as diverse as in The Hague at the Haagse Markt.

The offering is nicely presented, flowers give the individual stalls a country home feeling, everything is tasteful aiming at high quality and not at cheap prices. The herbs vendor had a garden of Eden like display enticing an “I want to have it” feeling, just gorgeous. His salsa in the big clay pots gives an excuse to take a short cut instead of cooking yourself.

The fruits and veggie stalls were in peak season. Berries, plums, zucchini blossoms, all kinds of tomatoes, beets and much more celebrated summer, the samples helped to make the choice what to purchase much easier.

Cheese is a very integral part of the Dutch diet. Several stalls catered for the appetite. The selection was not only about the big cheese wheels as known from travel reports. Some are imported cheeses like the Austrian mountain cheese with honey & clover I enjoyed a lot as it was not sweet but made the honey taste blend in really well. In general the choice is rather focused on semi-hard and hard cheeses, with only a few fresh or soft ones, but with excellent aromas. It is popular to add spices like cumin, seeds, e.g. clover, pesto etc. during the cheese making process, thus creating more diversity. My favorites are still the 3 or more year old farmers’ cheeses (Boerenkaas) which have a very concentrated gorgeous aroma. For kids the younger ones are probably more suitable as they taste smoother. Let them cut in dices by the vendor, get some bread (or not) and you will almost save lunch, it is so rich in flavor.

Coming from Germany, I am not a particular friend of Dutch bread from a taste & consistency perspective. But on the market there were some decent ones available. And it is also baked on site. So I assume that they use prepared frozen dough like any (cheap) baking shop nowadays. This is a bit disappointing, their beautiful presentation helped me to overcome these feelings, especially since I cannot resist croissants, which were decent. I also think they are a good way to judge if a baker understands his craft or not and is using good products in the first place.

Next stop: meat and sausages. I bought some dried pork sausage to bring back home with strong aroma fitting well to a good beer. The meat is also a temptation, especially lamb. Most meat was vacuum packed, rather supermarket and not butcher like.

What I find in many Dutch markets are the dried fruit & nuts section in all kinds of mixes often of tropical origin. I do not remember other European markets having such a liking for this product category. Maybe I have not traveled enough.

Despite the appetite for fish in this country there was only one stall selling it, including live lobster. And I do not remember if it was organic, farmed or “regular” fish. The oysters were definitely more interesting to me.

And yes there was a little street food available, I think only Vietnamese.

The costs of running a business on the market

Markets are a business for localities, traders and at times market management companies like the Group Géraud. And I am always wondering what traders have to pay for being at the market. At the Noordermarkt it was easier to find out as two gentlemen in a kind of uniform were collecting the fees. They did that with a device that had each trader with his/her photo. They told me that the fees varied by size of the stall, day of the week and locality of the market. In this case it was about 19.20€ for a 4 meters stall per market day. That would translate into a 576€ monthly rental, highly likely much cheaper than any shop in that area. It seems to be a good place to start a business at reasonable risks.

All in all: A nice market worth a detour when you are in Amsterdam, especially when you are looking for organic products

A little link list:

• A quick introduction from Amsterdam.info
• A free e-book on the markets of Amsterdam
• The Noordermarkt on Wikipedia

The post Trendy – Organic Noordermarkt, Amsterdam / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Wow!

This is what you feel when entering Rotterdam Markthal. It is overwhelming. The art at the very large ceiling is absolutely impressive with gigantic colourful flowers, butterflies, beetles and other living things. People have their necks up, staring at it, taking pictures and wondering. And I could not stop doing the same.

The building has somehow the shape of a platform horseshoe or as one blogger put it: it looks like a large Quonset hut. It has been opened to the public in October 2014. I will stop here talking about the architecture, at the end of the post there will be a few links covering the topic, still Wikipedia is a good start.

The mission

Ok, I came to visit the market hall because there was quite some good PR on it, and the official website created quite some appetite. But my mission was less about the architecture and art rather than what to find in terms of produce & food and market ambiance. Would this market hall be a gourmet paradise? How local would the products be? How would Dutch cuisine be represented? What would be different to other markets? Would I be disappointed?

The answer is not so simple.

What to see & buy

The market hall is quite huge and to see all stalls some time is needed. It is a mix of street food type of places, a bit of organic, flowers and tulip bulbs, Dutch cheese, Mediterranean specialities, meat and sausages from all places, tropical and local fruit & veggies, nuts, dried fruit, spices … you name it. What can be eaten and is popular will be there. But first the gems.

The stall which impressed me the most was the butcher “Nice to Meat“. It is a Dutch company which imports premium meat from all over the world, has some shops in the Netherlands and delivers to restaurants as well. The selection they offered at the Markthal was amazing. I do not remember having seen something comparable elsewhere. Their featured product is Wagyu ‘Kobe style’ beef from Japan. The Wagyu rib-eye came at a whopping 250€ per kilogram, leaving me a bit sad as my wallet was too small. Not only the quality of the meat was great, the lady at the counter really knew her products and was more than willing to share experiences even while knowing that I was not a buyer. I appreciate that.

Another butcher, this time an organic one, had kind of a pork TV at his counter with happy animals enjoying a bath in the mud – not live TV though. That definitely would give me a better conscience when buying meat. So I enjoyed the salami lollipops on a stick offered. The butcher has a dozen shops in the Netherlands – hopefully with pork TV as well.

As the Dutch are proud of their cheese with a good reason, some stalls catered for it. The choice was considerable, not very artisan, but perfect for tourists including myself. Getting blue, green and red coloured, flavoured cheese was worth a trial and for transport it is nicely vacuumed with a smile.

The spice and the nut stalls were very generous in their display providing the touch of an Arab market. The Mediterranean specialities stall added a similar flavour to it.

In general stalls had a nice offering, always neatly displayed. I often felt like being in a kind of modern supermarket which has a prominent interest in presenting fresh products. And the arrangements were often very symmetrical and less lush as I usually experience it at markets, but always colourful. This reinforced the supermarket feeling. The displays allowed easy and quick browsing, but the lack of “chaos” made it difficult to tickle the explorer instincts.

Getting a bite

For the street food lovers there are many opportunities to get a lunch bite. For those wanting a full menu there are also restaurants, but I did not have a deeper look into them. They seemed to look like typical modern ones, some on the first floor allowing to better obeserve the market buzz.

The stall of a family from Bosnia-Herzogovina got my full attention as I am fond of Balkan food (see picture gallery). Even if it was not presented as such on the menu, I got my Cevapcici with fresh onions. Nicely done served with a smile. Made me happy.

The crowd

The market hall is a strong magnet for tourists and photographers. But also the local population is coming for a lunch break and purchases since there is a supermarket included as well.

In the first place tourists are looking at the magnificent painting on the ceiling but after a while the stalls get their attention as well. Some of the offering is focused on this audience, e.g. pre-packed selection of cheeses, without exaggerating it. And as one vendor said he is happy with the tourists as they buy quite a lot and do not just wander around. During lunch time the place got busy as the Markthal provides sufficient quick bites. So it is not always clear who is a tourist or not.

Still it did not seem that there was a regular clientèle present as vendors and customers did not seem to have the typical “we know each other” chit chat that can be observed at other markets.

So what?

Somehow I could not get rid of the feeling that I was entering a candy store: my eyes got wide open like a child. Later I realized that somehow things seem a bit artificial, lacking to a certain degree a “classic” market ambiance. Nevertheless it probably offers a successful new concept for small businesses to thrive in competition with supermarkets.

As Anezka Prokopova stated it in her blog: “A well-designed market is an infinite source of unintentional meetings and social interactions”. The Markthal has not established this type of ambiance yet, but it is too early to tell considering the only recent opening.

René Van Gool made a few points in his presentation for the evolution of the Markthal, including adding more local products, fish and shortening the food chain.

I remain curious how the Markthal will look like in the years to come and if it will establish itself as true European food icon – it is already an architectural one.

All in all: It would be a bad idea not to visit this landmark. Despite some gems, do not expect a food paradise, rather a “candy store” feeling.

A little link list:

• The official website
• A very sensitive post from the architectural student Anezka Prokopova – a favourite of mine (the post)
• A presentation with all the facts and recommendations on how to make the Markthal a better place via project for public spaces
• A exhaustive review of the Markthal by the Guardian
• The New York Times has to add it’s view as well
• From the Rotterdam city guide a quick introduction
• Some beautiful pictures from the blogger Roselinde
• John Laninga is the one who characterized the Markthal as a large Quonset hut

The post Like a candy store – Rotterdam Markthal / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

It is not located in the “centre” of the city, but the heart beat is strong. And to use a cliché: the Haagse Markt feels like a melting pot. Or as the blogger KiwiDutch perfectly expressed it: Local heart, global soul.

First a disappointment …

This huge market is enclosed by a high brick wall limiting the entrance to a few spots. The question remains what or who is being protected this way from what. Not a good feeling.

Then entering the market on the northern tip created a first disappointment: seeing stalls after stalls with more or less cheap clothes and other merchandise was not what I was looking for. I had to pass a flower stall indicating: “Be nice or leave. Thank you” (see picture gallery). Good to be reminded of the right manners.

… then relief

After quite a long walk towards the south – keep in mind that the market claims to be the largest one in Europe – I found the produce section. I needed a few moments to realize that I was not at a pricey gourmet paradise but at a place which caters for day to day needs to people of all kinds of backgrounds.

Some of the stalls reminded of Arab markets with all their dried fruit and nuts, olives & spices some of African markets with all their vegetables and fruit called exotic like plantain bananas & cassava, papaya, soursop. Some stalls had produce from the Indian subcontinent – lots of them I could not identify, and I saw for the first time Tannia leaves. Basically without own photos and Wikipedia it would have been impossible to name what passed the eyes.

The discovery went on with dried and smoked fish in all colours and shapes and lots of fresh fish and seafood in its own section. Of course all the produce of the northern hemisphere were available as well, including a few stalls with Dutch cheese. This great mix makes it easy to try out very different cuisines.

All of these sights were accompanied with fragrances and flavours which enhanced the experience and are probably familiar to people having lived in the tropics.

On the street food side the offer was a bit more limited, mainly fried food. I enjoyed a crunchy chip spiral on a stick prepared in front of my eyes (see picture gallery above).

The crowd and the vendors

As it comes to the crowd was the same mix as the produce themselves: people with all kinds of origins identifiable or not were busy making their purchases. And as price are low, literally everybody has a chance to grab some decent produce. This is made even easier for the customers as many stalls sell the produce by the prepared bag or bowl instead of getting the right quantity of a pile.

Despite the hot weather the vendors were in a good mood. They were chit chatting with each other and laughed a lot. These good vibes made the visit even more pleasant and gave the feeling to be part of a larger community, especially as not many tourists were present.

Taking photos was mostly granted, of course not without jokingly giving it a price tag.

All in all: A great place when you want to leave behind classic European markets and discover what the globe has to offer.

A little link list:

• The official website: dehaagsemarkt.nl
• The post of KiwiDutch quoted in this post
• From the Leidener, a nice post as well
• The list of the outdoor markets of all types in The Hague
• For markets in other European capitals check my post

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This market is huge, really huge – and busy.

Intro

The Maastricht treaty is probably what makes this city sound so familiar. But it has more to offer, especially style and good shopping opportunities in a very nice historic setting. The Friday market adds its share to enhance the shopping experience. And it is very large, according to official sources up to 300 stalls. This alone is impressive. I am not sure, but I guess the produce and food section represents more than half of all these stalls, the other ones were more into clothes, textiles, bike spare parts and equipment etc.

What was impressive?

This Friday market exudes a real buzz. Even in the earlier hours people queued at some stalls for their shopping. The vendors are very communicative in many languages (Dutch, English, German & French) to attract their clientele and serve them with high efficiency. The supply never seems to end. All produce, be it fruits, vegetables, meat, fish etc.  are piled and busy hands make sure that those piles never get to small to impress potential buyers.

In the meat and fish section, it seemed that there is a zero waste policy. All parts of the animals were being sold. You will find minor fish cuts to make a fish soup of fish stock. I am not sure what chicken feet are good for, but there certainly will be a recipe somewhere in this city.

The fish stalls are something worth visiting. First there are plenty of them, each with a wide choice. Most of them are clustered at the Northern side of the market making comparisons very easy. Not being familiar enough with fish I would not be able to name them, but it is certainly overwhelming to see the different shapes and colours. It seemed that most come from the North Sea. I even found oysters, which always makes me happy. The further offering consisted also of smoked fish and street food, often seafood in a batter and then fried. I am not sure how one chooses her favourite fish stall, but all looked great.

The meat stalls were selling mainly chicken and some pork as well as convenience food. Chicken was rarely sold as a whole but each butcher seemed to have a big pile of each of the chicken parts: breast, wings, drumsticks, heart, feet, you name it. Next to those chicken specialists who reminded of wholesale business, there were more traditional butchers with a larger variety of animals and often meals for taking home like goulash etc. Lately I seem to suddenly “discover” rabbit on each market, this market not being an exception. The whole rabbit I saw came from France (see picture gallery). The sausage choice was rather limited comparing to what one will encounter in Germany.

When in the Netherlands it is a must to buy some cheese – Gouda is certainly the most known one, still the country has more to offer. Strangely enough, I saw only a few stalls in comparison to the meat & fish ones and they were distributed across the market. One of the characteristics of Dutch cheese is that it is being sold in different maturity groups, from young to very old. The older the cheese the more concentrated is the flavour, the young ones are very mild. I got a few: an old gouda (approx. 18 months, one with cumin, a young cheese and a Limburger (the one with distinct odour). Happiness back home!

The Netherlands are a hub of the global flower trade. Alsmeer is the location of the world’s largest trading centre for flowers and plants. Maastricht market makes a show case out of it. Many stalls offer flowers, bouquets and more in all kinds of colours. Enough to make the right choice for a loved one.

The fruit & vegetable stalls were a plenty as well. They looked like wholesale business going retail. Boxes and boxes full of what the greenhouses, fields and orchards across the planet are able to offer in large quantities. The prices were low, which also explains why so many people were doing their purchases here.

Besides all the produce, many street food stalls serve the market: fish & chips, all kinds of Asian ones, filled donuts and much more. Trying a mixed seafood platter – with batter and fried, accompanied  by a remoulade was rather disappointing. The donut filled with apple was a winner.

By the way: the Maastricht Friday market has been awarded best one in the Netherlands in 2014.

What was less impressive?

Despite the wide choice, especially when it comes to fish, this market offers rather commodities than specialties or gourmet stuff. Being familiar with European markets, there will be no real surprise. To a certain extent it is a huge outdoor supermarket – for feeding people in an affordable manner it is the place to be.

Some of the street food would have deserved a more sophisticated twist, it would make them truly unique. This is especially valid for the fish food.

But the market still fascinates me, my thoughts are coming back to all what I saw. There is some attraction I cannot explain. Probably it is the impressive buzz at the market, it gives me a great incentive to cook more often with truly fresh stuff.

All in all: A market which is attractive because of its sheer size and buzz. The large choice and quantity of fish is remarkable.

A little link list:

• The official site of the city with market information
• A small but nice post with beautiful pictures from the Crème fraîche blog
• More pictures on my photo site

The post The big one – Maastricht Friday market / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Den Burg is the main city of Texel island in the Netherlands. Texel in itself has some nice products to offer like some very nice cheeses e.g. from the Wezenspyk cheese maker, nice beer and great sheep meat.

It has also a food market, which is a bit less impressive but delivers all the daily food for tourists and inhabitants. The products seem to be mainly coming from the island itself. The products include fish, even though the fish preparation on the island focuses to often on deep frying with not so impressive results.

All in all: worth a visit when you are in Den Burg anyway

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