Oliebollen

Oliebollen are yeasted dough studded with raisins, deep-fried into rough, golden orbs and dusted heavily with icing sugar. Street stalls appear across the Netherlands specifically for the weeks around New Year's Eve to sell them, and oliebollen genuinely disappear from most menus and stands the rest of the year, tied tightly to that single seasonal window.

What it really is

A soft, yeasted dough, loose enough to be scooped rather than shaped by hand, mixes with plenty of raisins and sometimes chopped apple, then spoons directly into hot oil in rough, irregular portions rather than uniform rounds — the deliberately uneven shape is part of what identifies them. They fry until deeply golden and cooked through, and once drained, a heavy dusting of icing sugar covers the outside, clinging to the rough, craggy surface.

The New Year's Eve timing is a genuinely enforced seasonal tradition, not a marketing choice. Dedicated oliebollen stalls set up specifically for the final weeks of December and pack up again shortly after, making the treat something people actively look forward to each winter rather than something available whenever they want it.

How it's served

• Warm, dusted heavily with icing sugar, eaten by hand.
• From street stalls and market carts, especially in the run-up to New Year's Eve.
• As a dessert or festive snack, rarely made or sold outside that season.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the wheat, egg and dairy.
• It's naturally vegetarian.
• Say if it's a seasonal item, since guests may not realise it's tied specifically to the New Year period.