OP: The Art of Dutch Cooking
Gramercy Publishing Company, New York, 1961. Hardcover. Very Good. First printing.
Despite the absolute lacuna of material in English regarding Dutch cuisine, Holland is one of the largest food exporters in the world. Lush fields and ample canals and coastline provide a bounty which lends itself to seasonal, fresh eating, and we are the poorer for not knowing more about the culinary culture born of it!
The Art of Dutch Cooking (1961) adapts typical Dutch home fare to the American kitchen, omitting, for example, fresh herring and plovers’ eggs, which author Corry Countess van Limburg Stirum felt unlikely to be easily found outside of her home country in the 1960s. One hardly feels deprived, however, with the likes of:
- Chervil soup, thickened with egg yolk
- Boiled pike and smoked eel meatballs served with buttered potatoes
- Veal kidney ragout on toasted bread
- Whole head of cauliflower au gratin, finished with Gruyere and Parmesan
- Indonesian fried rice with red chili and roasted pork
Though there is certainly more to be said about Dutch food, and we’d welcome it, this is a happy start.
Our copy is Very Good in all regards, including the dust jacket. Clean and soundly bound; minor wear to the jacket. First printing.
