Dutch Food Delights: Advocaat

What:

Advocaat is a traditional Dutch/Belgian creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy.
 

Why:

According to the culinary encyclopaedia, “advocaat was first enjoyed by the Dutch settlers in Surinam. The initial advocaat recipes consisted of the avocado fruit which was not available in Holland. The Dutch could not let go of the habit of having advocaat and substituted the fruit with egg yolks. The name advocaat has also been derived from the Dutch term for the avocado fruit.”
 

Where:

You can pick up your bottle of advocaat at alcohol shops and some supermarkets in the Netherlands, Belgium and other neighbouring countries. You can also order advocaat online.
 

When:

Served year round, the thicker variety (see varieties below) is often served as/with dessert. Advocaat can also be served before meals as an aperitif. It can even be poured over waffles and desserts.
 

Varieties:

Apart from varying alcohol content amounts, advocaat comes in two versions. The first contains the egg whites as well as the egg yolks, which makes the liqueur too thick to drink and therefore is eaten with a spoon. The second version is the export version, prepared with the egg yolks only, resulting in a more liquid liqueur.
 

How Much [Should I Eat]:

I’m not a huge fan of eggs but even I can appreciate the custard flavour that comes through. Saying that, the variety I had only featured 14% alcohol and I felt even that amount overpowered the custard. I can’t even imagine what a 20% content would have been like.
 

Pas Op! (Watch Out!):

With an alcohol value of 14-20% you’ll want to watch how much of this liqueur you have.