Amsterdam is known for many things – canals, cyclists, cheese and some obvious unmentionables - but one thing it hasn’t been credited with yet is nut butter. On a recent visit I learned that the Dutch know how to produce some great nut butters – with three different ones on offer at my hotel’s breakfast buffet alone.
Based on Amsterdam’s nut butter producing prowess, I didn’t want to go home empty handed. So I stocked up some of their homegrown goodies. Here is a rundown on some of that selection and my overall thoughts on them. Please note that Pindakaas is the Dutch word for peanut butter, so when you see it used throughout this article you’ll know why.
Albert Heijn 100% Pindakaas: Albert Heijn is a well-known Dutch supermarket chain with branches throughout the Netherlands. And for a supermarket brand they produce an excellent peanut butter. I purchased both the smooth and crunchy variants from their 100% natural spread range and both were exceptional. The quality of the product was on a par with my beloved Meridian, with the peanut taste shining through. Given that it’s a supermarket owned brand, the value was fantastic at just 1.79 euros per 350g.
Mister Kitchen’s Pidakaas: In my desire to be slightly more adventurous, I picked up the Coco-Maple flavoured peanut butter from Mister Kitchen’s range. Mister Kitchen strikes me as a slightly more avant-garde peanut butter brand, which boldly tests different creative flavour combinations and infusions. I only managed to pick up the Coco-Maple one but the range includes Sea Salt-Caramel, Honey-Chilli, Cranberry-Cinnamon and Orange-Raisin. The Coco-Maple one tasted lovely, with flecks of coconut manifest in each spoonful. My only slight critique is that perhaps it is a bit too coconut heavy, overpowering the peanut taste from shining through. The 300g jars can be found at Albert Heijn supermarkets throughout the country for around 3 euros, and can also be purchased online for international customers.
PINDAKAAS: I stumbled across this range – including their cashew and pistachio variants - during my breakfast buffet extravaganza. I used my free time to track them down and managed to find them at Marqt, which is a fairly high-end, organic supermarket (think WholeFoods or Planet Organic, for those of you in the UK). Both their cashew and pistachio varieties are utterly superb and chock-full of nuts. What I particularly liked is they taste so utterly fresh and natural as if they were literally just ground up into butter that day. Unlike some of the other brands I have mentioned, this one is probably only sold through a handful of organic and health food shops so on your next trip to Amsterdam, I definitely suggest you have a mosey down to Marqt.
I hope this has given you a taste of the nut butter selection available from our Dutch friends. I recommend that on your next trip to Amsterdam you go beyond the coffee shops and try something new like a nut butter spree. You honestly won’t regret it.