Seriously Tasty
A book called Seriously Tasty, with plastic snack bar forks on the cover, can only mean one thing: it must be packed with deliciousness. Deep-fried deliciousness, to be precise.
When I was travelling, almost every foreigner who had ever visited the Netherlands said: “Oh, the Netherlands, that’s where they deep-fry all their food.” I thought it was complete nonsense—I hardly ever deep-fry anything, and stamppot is simply boiled, isn’t it? On closer inspection, I do understand these people. In what other country can you pull so many different deep-fried snacks from a vending wall? Especially if you don’t leave Amsterdam’s tourist centre, you’re surrounded by croquettes, frikandellen and cheese soufflés. Delicious.
Saté kambing is one of our all time favorites from Indonesia
Fatty Friday
Eating chips every week can of course no longer be part of a healthy upbringing these days, with all the health freaks lurking, but I know plenty of people who grew up having a freshly made snack-bar meal every Friday. I’m one of them, and so is Danny Jansen—who doesn’t call himself a rock-’n’-roller but a cholesteroller. His latest book, Seriously Tasty, celebrates Dutch snack culture.
Snack history
It starts with an extensive timeline documenting all the important snack moments in history. From the invention of mayonnaise (where would we be without it?) to the evolution of the frikandel, the first Mora snack and, yes, the first vending-machine restaurant. I never paid attention during history lessons, but when it comes to greasy food, a timeline like this suddenly becomes incredibly interesting.
According to Danny, people often make fun of the snack bar, whereas making a good snack really is a craft. In Seriously Tasty, he shows you how to make a berenklauw, mexicano, (saté) croquette or perfect chips at home. Everything, right down to the stock for the croquette, is made entirely from scratch, but if you want to take shortcuts, Danny strongly encourages you to do so. It’s already great fun that you’re getting started at all, isn’t it? If you do want to tackle it like a true pro, this book gives you all the tools. Which fat should you use? Which potato makes the perfect chips, and how do you make a bamibal from scratch?
Off to the snack bar
And don’t forget to visit the snack bar every now and then, okay? Homemade is fun, but of course you’re not going to stand there making your own frikandellen every Friday. Going to the snack bar is also a social affair. Whether you have a quick chat with the staff or treat your sweetheart to a cheese soufflé after a major argument. The snack bar brings people together. To end in his own words: ‘Remember, life is bitter, life is sour, everything tastes better deep-fried.’ That’s how it is, Danny!
Title: Seriously Tasty
Author: Danny Jansen
Publisher: A.W. Bruna Uitgevers
Price: €20,–
