'Hanzesteden' Products Then & Now

Food From Hanzetime Or/ And Typical Hanze City Food

During Hanzetime the food was different, but also the same. From Hanzetime on some regions have typical products that are only available in that region. Those products are protected, other regions can't use the same name for these products. Other products were made to use the commercial name of Hanze. All 9 cities have typical products. I will try some and tell about them.

Zutphense Walburger

This one I tried because it is typical for Zutphen, but I don't like sugar products. Keep this in mind when reading about Zutphense Walburger (Zutphense oliebol). Zutphense oliebol with hazelnuts, raisins, cinnamon in it and sugar on it. Just like an oliebol actually, but even sweeter. Probably if I liked sugar, I would have enjoyed it. ‘Zoete kouwer ik zou het proeven’! For those like me who don't have a sweet tooth, I would love to have a variant without sugar, because the hazelnuts, raisins and cinnamon give it a good bite and a bit of sweet. No sugar needed with those ingredients according to me. But the sweet tooth reigns the Dutch pastries.

Zwolse Balletjes

Zwollse balletjes are typical Zwolle sweets. I tried one because I'm looking for all the typical food from the Hanseatic cities. The ones I tried in Zwolle were Zwollse balletjes. They're sold by the bag. They taste sour and sweet at the same time. Those with a sweet tooth will love them. They last a bit, because they are squished in the mouth for a while.

"Aaierbal"

The "aaierbal" is what the eierbal is called in the Groningen dialect. It's a fried snack. The egg is surrounded by a ragout dough. Tastes good! Finally, a savory snack from a Hanseatic city. I prefer savory to sweet. I was sitting on a terrace where I normally wouldn't sit, but according to the reviews, this cafe had the best eierballen in Groningen. I wrote a short blog post about this savory snack because I liked it. The blog post: 'Oproep aan Stadjers: ‘Wat is jouw Grote Markt-moment?’. 

Coming soon!