Pancakes in The Netherlands

A pancake in The Netherlands is a pannekoeken, and is about the same thickness as an American pancake, but in comparison the texture is chewy, not cakey. They are tougher, and thicker than a traditional crepe, but similar in taste.

In The Netherlands there are restaurants that specialize in pannekoeken, and they will have many different varieties on their menu. They are often eaten for what we call brunch, a late morning or early afternoon meal. There are savory pannekoeken with bacon, ham or another protein mixed into the batter. There are sweet pannekoeken with bananas, apples or pineapple. Savory or sweet nearly all are served sprinkled with a light layer of powdered sugar, and usually syrup, or “stroop” is applied liberally by the lucky person about to enjoy one.

Dutch syrup, or stroop, is a molasses based syrup, substantially less sweet then our pure maple syrup and much more viscous. The thickness of the syrup helps make it stick to the pannekoeken.

Also, pannekoeken are huge, a single one can easily cover an entire over sized plate, and are delicious any time of the day.