Flavours

I think the Dutch- and every culture or nationality, for that matter- have some specific flavours that they prefer.

Peach and apple are common fruit flavours.  (Red peach is the "red" flavour of gatorade here- not fruit punch or cherry.)
Sweet pepper (or paprika).  Almost all chip flavours have something to do with either pepper, onion or garlic.  The variety of chips sounds something like this:  paprika & onion, paprika and garlic, paprika and onion and garlic, sweet chili paprika, paprika and chili paprika... I haven't found ketchup chips or all dressed chips yet.  Too bad for me!

Almost all cookies or desserts are either apple or almond-flavoured.

Cinnamon and nutmeg can be used to flavour anything.   I have been served potatoes, brussel sprouts and red beets, all flavoured with nutmeg, and I've been told of other vegetables that are to be served with nutmeg or cinnamon.  For me, cinnamon is for baking, and nutmeg for baking or for on oatmeal.  (They also don't eat oatmeal or porridge here.  Breakfast is always a cold meal, mostly with bread, cheese, apple spread, peanut butter, and maybe some yogurt.)

Applesauce is like gravy.  It's the perfect topping for beef, mashed potatoes, or whatever you'd like!  (I haven't adjusted to this yet.)

Chocolate?  Well, yes, there is chocolate here, and is it ever delicious!  I'm talking melt-in-your-mouth milk chocolate that you can buy at any store!  But there's nowhere near the option of chocolate-flavoured desserts.  I have had some of the best ice cream cake here (mixed-berry) but it couldn't replace a DQ cake.  "Red fruits" or "forest fruits" is a typical flavour for teas, juices and ice cream cakes.  It seems that tiramisu and strawberry are more popular flavours for puddings and icecream, than chocolate.  Layered cakes also seem to be more common.  Layers of crunchy mixed with layers of pudding and whipping cream.  Yum!

People think I'm crazy if they discover that I like peanut butter with my banana.  This must be a Canadian thing!

I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies, and of course, the people who ate them said "they're good", but it was nothing compared to the reactions I got for oatmeal raisin cookies!  I think the Dutch people love their cinnamon and raisins.  I also think the Dutch prefer spice to sweet.  I think in Canada, we like very rich sweets.  But this is all just in my personal opinion, based on the limited number of Dutch people who I have conversed with about food.