Bread is amazing, this is an undisputed fact. From the baguettes of France to the chapattis of India, bread is central to the cuisine of pretty much every country throughout the world. However, I have recently discovered that the Dutch take a love of bread to a whole new level. This first came to my attention when a friend mentioned that she saw someone walking down the street eating dry slices of bread from a loaf. Surely not I thought, not even with a slice of cheese or a slither of butter?

Once it had been pointed out to me, I couldn’t stop seeing people eating plain bread everywhere; in the street, at the gym (presumably as a refuelling snack?), at university. Recently, a friend from home visited me here in Nijmegen. I explained this bread-based phenomena to her and she did not believe me, during the train journey from Schiphol to Nijmegen we had seen no less than four people eating dry slices of plain bread. It was like being in the nightmare of someone with a gluten intolerance. But it’s not just plain bread, bread is the main feature of many iconic Dutch snacks- tosti’s, broodje krokets and kebabs to name just a few. Then there are the amazing toppings for toast- pindakaas, a whole plethora of different jams and, of course, hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles for breakfast, genius!!).

I am by no means criticising this love of bread, in my opinion the more carbs the better. After all I am from a country where the chip piece (a sandwich consisting of chips (fries) and butter, maybe a wee bit of ketchup if you’re feeling adventurous) reigns supreme. However, I’m sorry, I really don’t get the dry bread thing, at least dunk it in some hummus! But I won’t knock it too much until I try it. It can’t be too bad… The more I think about it, it’s a celebration of bread in its must unadulterated form- that can be nothing but a good thing.

Read Eilidh 's blogs here