Archive for September, 2010
Why the Dutch eat hotchpotch on October 3
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
On October 3, many Dutch eat carrot hotchpotch known as “hutspot”. This is mashed potato with carrot and onions, served with smoked sausage. Some add little bacon strips and/or cheese dice to it. Why? To commemorate that on October 3, 1574 the siege of the city of Leiden by the Spanish troops finally came to an end.
In 1568, Dutch rebels had taken up arms against the rule of the Spaniards. A few years later, in 1573, the Spaniards besieged the rebel city of Leiden. Although the rebels defended themselves well, even after fighting a whole year, they had been unable to lift the siege. Finally, in September 1754, they broke the dikes to let the seawater pour into the low, reclaimed land around the city and literally flush the enemy out. Unfortunately, it took until October 3, 1754 for a big storm to finally push the water far enough through the dikes to make the Spaniards flee.
It is said that the Spaniards left in such a hurry that the rebels still found a hot pot with an unknown stew made of carrots, onion, meat and parsnip. To celebrate their victory the rebels gave the food to the starving citizens of Leiden. They called it “hutspot” derived from the words “hutsen” (to mix) and “pot” (pot), literally meaning “mixed pot”. Some people still eat hutspot on October 3 to celebrate the liberation of Leiden.
If you would like to join in this hotchpotch-eating tradition, here is how to cook “hutspot”:
Ingredients (4 persons):
- 2 pounds (900 gr) floury potatoes
- 1.5 pounds (675 gr) carrots cleaned and washed
- 3-4 big onions
- 4 sausages
- milk
- 2 laurel leaves
- nutmeg to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- butter
- bacon strips (optional)
- cheese dice (optional)
Instructions:
1. Peel the potatoes, cut them in small pieces and wash them. Do the same with the carrots.
2. Cut the unions in rings.
3. Cook the potatoes together with the carrots, onions and about 2 laurel leaves in slightly salted water until they are done (15-20 minutes). For extra hearty “hutspot” consider cooking in broth instead of salty water.
4. In the meanwhile, bake the sausages in butter.
5. When the potatoes and carrots are done, remove the water and mash them together.
6. Add the gravy from the sausages and if necessary add some milk until you get a nice smooth puree.
7. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
8. If you like, add the optional bacon and cheese.
Vegetarians that do not use the gravy could consider adding some french fries condiments to add a bit more taste.
The Toko In Semarang
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
A Toko in Semarang
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
When researching my own tree I stumbled upon an ancestor named Henri Francois Grivel that seemed to have disappeared into thin air after his birth. I could not find any records on him except for his birth certificate. I had the rest of his family complete. I knew the fate of his parents and his siblings. But nothing on him, and that was nagging me…
Then, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Dutch Library) came to the rescue. They had only just completed scanning and indexing over a million newspaper pages starting in 1640, and put it all online! When I searched for “Grivel” literally dozens of hits turned up for an Indonesian newspaper from the mid 1800s. Intrigued, I clicked on the hits and to my amazement, they were newspaper ads, placed by my ancestor Henri to promote his shop in Semarang.
He sold furniture, books, baby clothing, rain boots, photo cameras, tools, candles and a myriad of other things a Dutch colonist would need to deal with life in the tropics. Suddenly Henri had come to life…
Ever since, I have frequently used the site of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek to put real-life flesh on the bones of my clients’ family trees. Sometimes it doesn’t yields anything, but other times, it provides fascinating clues to people’s daily life.
Go ahead and have a go at it yourself. You can feed any Dutch texts you find to Google Translate to get a grasp of what it says.
The Secret Message of Baptism Witnesses
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
The Christening by Jan Steen
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
When looking at a baptism record we tend to look for the primary data like date and place of baptism and birth, names of the parents and name of the child. Witnesses are often ignored, which is a shame because they can provide a beautiful insight into the kinship and friendships.
Witnesses aren’t just people that happened to be there when the child was baptized; they are usually very close relatives or dear friends. I most cases, the witnesses are the grandparents. This can be vital information to push your tree back in time.
You can even hypothesize about the relationship of the witness to the child using naming patterns. Usually, the first boy is named after the paternal grandfather, and the second boy after the maternal grandfather. All subsequent boys are named after the father’s brothers. The first girl is usually named after the maternal grandmother, the second girl after the paternal grandmother, and all following daughters after the mother’s sisters.
Let’s have a look at some examples to see this in action:
Gerrit and Marie de Vries have their first son Klaas baptized. The witnesses are Klaas de Vries and Jelke Oldeman. Following the naming patterns, these are probably the paternal grandparents.
Two years later the same couple have their first daughter Antje baptized. The witnesses are Henk van Buuren and Antje Hendriks. These are probably the maternal grandparents.
Several years later, a third girl is baptized Petronella. The witnesses are Arie Olthof and Petronella van Buuren. These are probably a maternal aunt and her husband.
So, the next time you have a look at a baptism record, have a close look at the witnesses as well. They can tell you a lot about older generations.
Want to know more about dealing with Dutch births and baptisms?
Read our article: Dutch Birth Records Basics.
Download our free e-book: Dutch Birth Records And Rituals.
