Artigenda
Dutch National Croquettes Day
When: Annually, 9 October.
In honour of renowned Dutch culinary journalist Johannes van Dam (October 9, 1946 – September 18, 2013), October 9 is National Croquettes Day. The English translation for this day is Dutch National Croquettes Day.
About Johannes van Dam
Johannes van Dam was born on October 9, 1946, and was long considered one of the Netherlands’ best-known culinary journalists. He died on September 18, 2013. There is a good reason for choosing October 9 as the day for National Croquette Day. Van Dam may well be considered a true croquette expert. Not bad for someone who started as a medical and psychology student, but dropped out of both studies. Via various peregrinations, he became a cookbook salesman, but this did not appeal to him in the end. He much preferred writing about food. He eventually did so for Elsevier and then Het Parool and De Morgen. In 2005, he published “De Dikke van Dam“(“The Thick Van Dam”). A culinary bible of 735 pages, based on the articles he wrote before.
Besides croquettes, Van Dam was a lover of mashed potatoes with raw endive and a meatball. In addition, he could appreciate both classic Jewish cuisine and peasant cuisine.
About the croquette
The Dutch word “kroket” is derived from the French word croquette and that is where we should look for its origin, in that country. The kroket/croquette isn’t Dutch to begin with.
One of the oldest recipes found dates from 1705 and is older than this date. This has to do with the printing of Le cuisinier royal et bourgeois. The first printing dates from 1691. If we have to point to someone, it is tempting to point to François Massialot (1660 – 1733) as the inventor of the croquette.
Massialot was the cook of Philip I of Orleans, among others. He was the brother of Louis XVI. So he also appeared occasionally at the court of Versailles. Consider him a kind of freelancer, as he was not quite the exclusive cook for the brother of the French king.
What did not help is that his first books were published without a name. So in 1691 it was Le cuisinier royal et bourgeois and in 1692 Nouvelle instruction pour les confitures, les liqueurs et les fruits.
Crème brûlée and pea soup
Pea soup in Dutch is erwtensoep.
It is questionable whether he even thought up the croquette himself. The books also feature dishes like pea soup and crème brûlée, which we can surely assume he did not invent. For instance, despite its French name, crème brûlée might not even have French origins. It would perhaps be an original English dish or one originating in Spain (Catalonia). That explains the versions called crème anglaise and crema catalana.
It is not certain whether Massialot was also responsible for the recipe or conception of pea soup. The history of this dish may go back much longer. Probably as far back as Classical Antiquity and its origins may not even be traced back to Europe. Without citing an actual source, this website mentions a recipe that is said to date from the 16th century. That’s a century earlier than the book published by Massialot (seventeenth century).
"Real" Dutch
Like pea soup, the croquette shows that the popularity of the dish does not necessarily mean that it is also a ‘real’ Dutch dish. Does that matter? Actually no. Let’s face it, the tulip is also a flower that did not originally occur in the Netherlands.
Get inspired and surprised on this day. Do you opt for the classic croquette or go for a special one? You don’t always have to opt for a ‘standard’ variety. There are now so many varieties to choose from, including the many versions without animal ingredients.
Bon appetit on this Nationale Krokettendag…
It might even be International Crochet Day, as no date has yet been set for an international edition for this day.
