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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Schiedam
Cereal distillate flavored with juniper, the predecessor of gin, which made Schiedam the city of jenever: at its peak, hundreds of distilleries operated along the canals, and giant windmills ground the grain. Jenever has a European geographical indication shared by the Netherlands, Belgium and neighbouring areas.
Traditional drink from Schiedam, Holanda Meridional
Also known as: jenever, genever, Schiedam, Old Schiedam, moutwijnjenever
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Schiedamse jenever — Schiedam, the Netherlands
Jenever is a cereal distillate flavored with juniper (jeneverbes in Dutch), from which the name comes. It is regarded as the predecessor of gin. In the traditional version, the base is moutwijn, a distillate of malted barley, rye and wheat, then redistilled with juniper and other botanicals.
Schiedam, a town near Rotterdam, built its history around this drink. According to the Dutch motoring club ANWB, the town had 392 distilleries at its peak in 1880, spread among malt houses and warehouses along the canals. The grain was ground by giant windmills erected atop the old walls. The smoke from so many boilers blackened the façades, and the town earned the nickname Black Nazareth.
Some distilleries remain active, and the national drink museum on Lange Haven keeps a small distillery that follows the old recipe.
Jenever is not exclusive to Schiedam. Within the European Union, the name is a protected geographical indication shared by the Netherlands, Belgium, the French departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais and the German states of North Rhine–Westphalia and Lower Saxony; other Dutch and Belgian towns also have distilling traditions. This page is associated with Schiedam, where the drink shaped the landscape and the economy.
There are two main styles: oude jenever, following the older recipe with more moutwijn and a malty flavour, and jonge jenever, which is lighter. In bars it is served in a small tulip-shaped glass filled to the rim.
Schiedam , Holanda Meridional
City of jenever distilleries and windmills.
Moutwijn (distillate of malted barley, rye and wheat), cereal alcohol, juniper berries and other aromatic plants.
In a small tulip-shaped glass, filled to the rim. Oude is usually served at room temperature; jonge, chilled.
A bar and celebratory drink, enjoyed year‑round; should be consumed in moderation.
Your questions
Traditional jenever uses moutwijn—a malt distillate—as its base and has a fuller, maltier flavour; gin is made mainly from neutral alcohol. Jenever is considered the precursor of gin.
Because the town had hundreds of distilleries in the 19th century and giant windmills that ground the grain for them. The Nationaal Jenevermuseum is in the historic centre.
No. The European protection of the name also covers Belgium and neighbouring areas of France and Germany.
They are styles, not ages: oude is fuller and more malty; jonge is lighter and more neutral.
Flavors of the Netherlands
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Rustic mashed potatoes mixed with a vegetable, such as kale, sauerkraut or carrots with onion, served with a smoked sausage and gravy. It’s the winter home-cooking dish of the Netherlands, with variants that have their own names.
Small white bread filled with well-seasoned pork, the worstenbroodje is the savory of North Brabant and was recognized as Dutch intangible heritage in 2016.
White yeast bread with large chunks of sugar mixed into the dough and cinnamon, which caramelize in the oven. It is the sweet bread most associated with Friesland, and local tradition links it to visits to the parents after a baby is born.
Two thin crisp waffle wafers glued together with a caramel-cinnamon syrup filling. It originated in Gouda bakeries around 1800, and the method of making it by hand is on the national inventory of intangible heritage.
A boiled egg wrapped in a creamy, spiced ragù, breaded and fried: the eierbal is the snack bar treat of Groningen. It was added in 2017 to the national inventory of intangible heritage, following an initiative by a society created to protect it.
Round tart made from a thin fermented dough and generously filled with fruit, rice pudding or custard, sometimes topped with a lattice or streusel. Since 2024 it has a Protected Geographical Indication from the European Union, shared by Dutch and Belgian Limburg.
Tray of French fries topped with shoarma, melted cheese, salad, garlic sauce and sambal. Created in 2003 at a snack bar in Rotterdam for hairdresser Nataniël Gomes, it took the name of his salon and spread across the Netherlands.
Large choux pastry ball filled with whipped cream and covered in dark chocolate, the sweet of 's-Hertogenbosch. A local pastry shop advertised chocolate balls as early as 1903 and began filling them with whipped cream in 1924.
A small leavened roll twisted into a spiral with light brown sugar and cinnamon that caramelizes in the oven, leaving it sticky inside and out. It is the best-known sweet of Zeeland and its origin is attributed to the Sephardic Jews who settled in Middelburg at the end of the 16th century.
