During my first visit in the Netherlands, this was when Dutchman and I were still in our high spirits of transcontinental dating, I was confronted with this very interesting discovery about what fresh bread meant to the Dutch.

Woke up on my first day with the Dutchman announcing that he will make breakfast for me. Nothing could just be more romantic than your man fixing you breakfast, I thought. I was curious, so I quickly got out of bed and followed him to the kitchen. I watched with amusement while he got himself busy.

He opened the fridge and the freezer on the bottom. I peeked and saw frozen loaves of sliced bread wrapped in plastic. He took one plastic bag out and placed it on top of the marble grey chopping board.

"How many would you like for yourself?"
 
"Huh?"

"Why is he freezing the bread?" I thought, somewhat distressed at this unusual discovery. He eats frozen sliced bread!

My brief reverie was interrupted when Dutchman asked again, "How many do you want?"

"Oh, sorry, just one please." I mumbled.

I can't decide if I'm stumped or what. I know, my reaction is probably trivial but this is the first time I have seen frozen sliced bread.

"Are you okay?" he said looking at me while taking four bread slices for himself and one for me, "You seem to be surprised."

"Why are you freezing the bread?" I blurted out.

"Well, quite simple. I freeze them to keep them fresh."

"Fresh?" My eyebrows tilted and raised high. "You said fresh?" I asked, now really confused. "How can these loaves of bread be fresh when they have been frozen?"

"They are fresh because they are frozen." He said. "When you take them out of the freezer and thaw them, they come out as fresh as the day they were made."

"Huh?"

"Here, have a look. See? The bread is still fresh."

"No, I don't get it."

Freshly thawed

I thought the debate spoiled the romantic breakfast mood. Fortunately cupid was busy and heavily armed with honeyed arrows. Cupid managed to control the situation. But, I still could not fathom his simple logic of freshness. Fresh = Deep freeze.

Years passed and I moved to the Netherlands. I received my residence permit, got a bike, learned the inevitable 'flying' three kisses during a verjaardag, spoke the language, got a job, managed through the many uitverkoop seasons, and went through the dawn of realisation that freezing bread is as normal as all of the above. I saw that the Dutch parents, the Dutch sisters, and our Dutch friends do it. They all freeze their sliced bread.

It's just typically Dutch, gewoon - they deep freeze their bread.

When asked why, they all said the same thing to me, "We freeze bread to keep it fresh."

Telling my friends and family back home, and even friends from other countries, about the strange ways of deep-freezing bread in the Netherlands was quite entertaining. Some find it really funny, and I like it when they all say, in chorus, "That's not fresh at all!" I know. I mean, really, who eats frozen bread?

I tried explaining to people the Dutch logic of bread freshness but it just fell unto deaf stubborn ears. Freshness for many people is eating warm bread, fresh from the oven and not fresh from the cold freezer.

Today, I am ashamed to admit that I have fallen under the persuasive Dutch influence. I am just too weak to resist. I now freeze our bread at home!

I thought, there is no use explaining and teaching new tricks to old (Dutch) dogs. It's pointless. After all he eats most of the bread anyway.

Editorial note: To answer one reader's question on Dutched Pinay's name. No, it isn't a cheerful, young Dutch wine: Pinay means Filipina in the Filipino language.

Dutched Pinay's full blog.

[Copyright Expatica 2007]