No fewer than four out of five Dutch people eat gourmet at Christmas. We do this because it is not stressful (59 percent say), we like it (82 percent) and everyone eats what he or she likes (49 percent). But that doesn't mean we're going to take it easy. Because although half of us only need half an hour to an hour for the preparations, we do think carefully about what exactly we put on the table. This is shown by research by Plus supermarket.
We often find inspiration in the supermarket and in various magazines. We also like to look at friends and family. 72 percent always make a fresh salad, one in five indicate that they sometimes eat game and 43 percent also have fish on the gourmet table. Salmon in particular is a favorite (83 percent). Whatever piece of meat or fish the Dutch serve:40 percent prefer to choose responsible ingredients. And do the Dutch make cutbacks during the expensive December month? We say not:quality is more important than price, according to 53 percent.
The gourmet table also still showcases traditional ingredients. Almost all Dutch people still have chicken (92 percent), hamburgers (75 percent) and steak (77 percent) on the menu. Baking pancakes afterwards is a habit for 44 percent. Other nostalgic favorites that tickle the taste buds:four in five enjoy garlic sauce and three in five enjoy satay sauce.
We dine for an average of one to three hours, preferably while enjoying a glass of wine or soft drink. Men prefer a beer (28 percent), women traditionally go for a good glass of wine (32 percent). The most chosen grape variety is Sauvignon Blanc:we find it best to combine with the diversity of flavors on the table.
Most gourmet fans live in the south of our country:half indicate that they regularly (two to five times a year) go gourmet, compared to 40 percent of the rest of the Dutch population. In the east we mainly gourmet for the children, in the west the meat substitutes are twice as popular as in other regions. Dutch people living in the north think gourmet is the way to keep their Christmas meal affordable (46 percent), compared to 34 percent of other regions. This is also reflected in the spending pattern:in the north we spend an average of €10.80 per person on Christmas meals, in the south €13.10, in the east €14 and in the west €14.10.
