Dutch Pea Soup

EM periodically tests typical Dutch foods with help of international students under the name of ‘Dutch Delight’. This edition, Sabine Bright from Latvia tastes and reviews Dutch Pea Soup. She is master student Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship.

The product

Dutch Pea Soup is a dish that is typically being eaten during winter – preferably when temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius. The Dutch version of pea soup is typically much thicker in substance than the pea soup generally known in Germany or the UK. Dutchies associate pea soup with an – meanwhile – almost legendary long distance ice-skating event: Elfstedentocht. Sabine decided to review this winter dish for you.

The Review

When I enter L-building at campus a bit hastily with a richly filled bowl of soup, Sabine smiles when she catches a brief glimpse of the soup. “I think I know that one”, she says. “I have tasted it during one of the International dinners when I first came to The Netherlands.”

Curious to taste, she doesn’t hesitate long before sipping a bit of soup from the spoon. “Hmm. This one is pretty good”, she admits right away. “It’s also richly filled with vegetables and the sausage.”

“The pea soup is by definition quite a filling meal – in that sense perfect for winter”, she notes. Though Sabine describes the taste as quite soft, she imagines that people from Mediterranean countries might not like the taste. “Like in Holland, in Latvia winters are relatively cold, requiring nutritional meals”, she explains.

Sabine admits that she has been eating it for lunch already this winter. “But I have to be in the mood for it”, she adds. “It’s nice for a lunch, but not every day.”