Oliebollen: Welcoming the New Year with a Dutch Tradition
In the Netherlands, where New Year’s Eve temperatures usually dip below freezing, it’s traditional to indulge in a warm, deep-fried, powdered-sugar-dusted confection known as the oliebol. The translation for this time-honored treat is literally “oil ball,” but don’t let that dissuade you. Oliebollen is just the right palate-pleasing combination of oil, dough, and sugar. This crispy, satisfying cousin of zeppoli and fritters can be a delicious way to warm up on a snowy night.
Although the Dutch don’t only eat oliebollen on New Year’s Eve, when celebrating the arrival of another year it’s often savored with a glass of champagne. Both are savored while watching holiday fireworks or the sparking city bonfires that annually consume discarded Christmas trees.
The history of the oliebol goes back a long time. Nobody knows who ate the first oliebol, or how they made their way into the low countries. Die-hard oliebollen fans and experts point to a painting by Aelbert Cuyp from about 1652 depicting a cooking pot with oliebollen, to show that they have existed for a long time in the Netherlands.
There are some people who believe that the oliebol might have been brought to the Netherlands from Portugal and Spain by Sephardic Jews who were forced to flee from the Spanish Inquisition in the Middle Ages. At that time, there was already a delicacy in Portugal that looked a lot like an oliebol.
There are several theories about why the Dutch eat oliebollen around Christmas and on New Year’s Eve. Some Dutch folks believe that the practice originated in the Middle Ages.
In some areas, it was common for people to fast between St. Martin (November 11) and Christmas. After this period of fasting was over, they feasted, drank, and ate. “Oil cakes” were an important part of this celebration, because they were filling and fattening, and thus perfect for the winter period — especially after such a long fast.
In the time between Christmas, New Year’s, and Epiphany, it was also a late medieval custom for the poor and vagrants to go door-to-door to get something to eat in exchange for a New Year’s wish or a song. Oliebollen could have been part of that tradition because they were cheap to make and satisfying.
Whether you sample oliebollen with champagne, dust them in sugar or dip them in fondue is up to you. Out with the old. In with the new and some satisfying calories to ward off the cold.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/Q2aveTL9Ix4
- https://www.pastemagazine.com/food/doughnuts/oliebollen-welcoming-the-new-year-with-a-dutch-tra/
- https://dutchreview.com/culture/food/dutch-oliebollen-the-traditional-new-years-snack/
- https://heavenly-holland.com/oliebollen-new-years-eve/
- https://readloud.net/
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