Oliebollen on New Year's Eve in the Netherlands: facts and an old recipe - Horeca Webzine (2024)

History

The history of the oliebol goes back a long way. For example, a cooking pot with oliebollen can be seen in a painting by Aelbert Cuyp from around 1652. A recipe first appears in the Northern Dutch cookbookThe wise chef, which dates from 1667. At that time, the dough ball was still called 'oliekoek'.

Culinary historian Manon Henzen suspects that this type of oliebollen was eaten in our country much earlier. But there are no recipes. In Belgium and Germany, sweet and savoury beignets were already eaten in the Middle Ages.

Midwinter period and begging festivals

It is good to realize that Christmas and New Year's Eve are in the midwinter period, says tradition expert Ineke Strouken. It was a period that was certainly cold and dark in the 17th and 18th centuries. After all, there was no electric light yet. People therefore tried to make it cozy during this period with lots of lights. It was also a period in which they took extra care of each other. People went door to door to sing a song and in return received something to eat or drink.

oliebollen

And it was precisely during that midwinter period that people baked oliebollen. “They were prepared with ingredients that were available in winter: flour, yeast, dried fruits”, Henzen explains. “In addition, they are filling – which is nice when food is scarce – and they are easy to share.”

Nowadays people no longer go door to door because they are hungry. However, there are still all kinds of begging festivals, such as Epiphany, St. Martin's Day and New Year's singing.

Strouken finds it striking that many traditions surrounding Christmas and New Year's Eve have not changed much.We still light up our house, albeit with Christmas lights, get together with our loved ones and eat oliebollen.”

Not many differences

The composition of the oliebol has not changed much over the years. In the past they were perhaps a bit flatter, as you can still find them in Morocco. And this mainly because less oil was used.

In old prints and paintings you see people outside on the street frying doughnuts, in a pan of oil on an open fire. Henzen: “A large pan full of oil may not have been very safe, but it was also expensive. Especially in the 17th century.”

Manon Henzen

Henzen has a historical cooking studio in Nijmegen and naturally tried out the first olieboecken recipe himself. “The amount of oil is mentioned in The Sensible Chef, and it was quite a considerable amount. My oliebollen turned out nice and round.”

In the past, oliebollen often contained aniseed, and Strouken knows of a recipe from the 19th century with cumin seeds. “Whole wheat flour will have been used”, she explains. “And halfway through the 19th century, the well-known powdered sugar was added.”

Fried dough balls are also eaten in other countries around us. Oliebollen with dried fruit that are for sale in oliebollen stalls on the street are typically Dutch.

“In Spain and Italy they also have fried dough, especially in the sweet corner. They are associated with holidays, but it is no longer a midwinter tradition there,” according to Henzen“Why this is the case in the Netherlands remains a mystery.”

Oil cake recipe 'The sensible cook'

What stands out about the recipe for oliekoecken from Destandige kock is the very rich filling. In terms of weight, there are just as many raisins in it as flour. And then quite a few almonds are added to that.

They are also deliciously spicy because of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. The sensible cook fried them in rapeseed oil, but if you fry them in sunflower oil you don't taste any difference, according to Manon.

Supplies

• 500 ml milk
• 50 grams of butter
• 50 grams of yeast
• 500 grams of wheat flour
• 1 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ginger
• pinch of cloves
• pinch of salt
• 500 grams raisins, soaked
• 150 grams almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1 apple, cut into small pieces
• Oil for baking

Preparation

1. Make the milk lukewarm.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Place the yeast in a large bowl and add a splash of milk.
4. Let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to work.
5. Add the rest of the milk, butter, flour, spices and a pinch of salt and mix well with a mixer.
6. Mix the batter for about 10 minutes, until it becomes nicely shiny.
7. Fold in the raisins, almonds and apple.
8. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it rise for at least 30 minutes in a warm place (for example in a lukewarm oven at about 35 degrees).
9. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 180 degrees.
10. Once the batter has risen properly, gently fold it again.
11. Scoop a mound of batter into the hot oil and fry the oil cakes for a few minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
12. Turn them halfway through.
13. Eat them nice and warm, sprinkled with some cinnamon sugar.

More about oliebollen

Read more about the history of oliebollen.

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