Holland

The Netherlands is most famous for its windmills, tulips and Edam and Gouda cheeses, but there is much more to Dutch culture and cuisine as Elisabeth Luard discovers. Elisabeth Luard's trip begins with a visit to a family living in a houseboat to share their traditional Hutspot. She then visits a miller grinding wheat for sale to a baking co-operative, and one of the oldest Genever distilleries in Holland. An interval to sample a Dutch favourite, raw new herring, is followed by a visit to a cheese making co-operative in Gouda and then to a friend to learn how to make spice cake. Finally, having been fitted with clogs, she learns how to make brown beans with soured milk sauce, a dish so traditional that it is the subject of a traditional dance.