21 Belgium Food Facts: Unique Details Revealed On Belgian Cuisine!

Belgian food is famous all over the world for its unique flavors

An astonishing fact is that they use evaporated fruit juices in various dishes to make them scrumptious. Mouthwatering Belgian waffles, Belgian beer, mashed potatoes, and so on can be tasted all over the country and not just in the capital city.

You may not have known that Belgium cuisine does not belong solely to the country of Belgium. In fact, it corresponds to the food famous in the neighboring region as well. The cuisines of Germany, France, and the Netherlands are also on this list.

When you visit the area, you can taste great their famous chocolates, fries, waffles, and Belgian beers.

Hamburgers and spaghetti bolognese are also popular among Belgians. Belgian cuisine traditionally incorporates regional and seasonal ingredients in all the main dishes. Ingredients mainly found in Belgian dishes are potatoes, tiny grey shrimps, white Asparagus, leeks, Belgian endives, and Belgian beer. The other ingredients commonly used are meat, cheese, and butter.

Belgians eat four meals a day, with a light breakfast, medium lunch, a snack, and a large dinner. Belgium has a number of dishes that are famous at a local level, such as waterzooi from Ghent, Tarte au riz from Verviers, and Coque biscuit from Dinant. While these dishes are local in origin, they are relished throughout Belgium.

If you enjoy this article all about the food in Belgium, why not also read our other great articles about Belgium history or Benin here at Kidadl?

The Most Popular Food In Belgium

Belgium food is well-known for chocolates, waffles, french fries, and beer.

Belgium has distinctive national dishes, like Brussels waffles, Brussels sprouts, rabbit stew, horse meat, sweet dough, deep-fried balls, and moules frites. You can enjoy fresh tomato paste in their pasta and other Belgian foods.

To enjoy the unique dishes, you do not have to stick to the capital city. You can go around sightseeing to any parts, like Western Belgium, Central Plateau or in fact any place in Western Europe.

You will get these delicacies in any of these places. You can relish French food throughout western Europe. It is a favorite among the people there.

When in Belgium, you'll see Belgian beer is more common than wine. You must not miss the chance to taste Trappist beers; these are specially made in Trappist monasteries.

You may also enjoy traditional Abbey beer while in Belgium. This beer is enjoyed in a uniquely shaped glass. Also, you may be astonished to know that it is famous from the days of the roman empire as well.

For seafood fans, Moules-frites is a dish you must not forget to try. Mussels served with fries is an image you can directly associate with Belgium. In summers, you can get fresh and juicy delicacies. These mussels are harvested from the North Sea between June and April.

It is not eaten using a spoon. Instead, you use an empty mussel shell.

The shell is used as tongs to take out fresh mussels flesh from their shells. Shallot sauce with fries is also a fresh delicacy you must have when in Belgium. Belgian mussels harvested from the North Sea are said to be bigger and more delicious than those found in the rest of the world.

Speculaas are sweet cookies like shortbread biscuits. These are traditionally eaten in early December. This time marks St. Nicholas Day, which is also in the same season as Christmas. These sweet treats are savored all year round. The main ingredients are butter, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. Their unique feature is that they are thin and crunchy.

To get the best taste of Liège waffles, you must have them with ice cream and chocolate sauce, or at least a simple dusting of sugar.

Traditional Belgian Liège waffles have a special ingredient: pearl sugar. This gives them an incredible caramelized taste. The vanilla and butter mixture creates a mesmerizing, rich, and dense dough. The taste is heavenly.

You can find these Liège waffles and stroopwafels (two thin baked waffles filled with caramel in the middle) at all coffee shops and cafés, though they shall taste the best at a traditional Belgian bakery. You can enhance the flavor by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ham and endive gratin is ham wrapped with a creamy béchamel sauce in the middle. This dish is mainly included in the important meals of the day. Ham and endive gratin is prepared using traditional Belgian endives, locally known as chicory, along with fresh regional cheese and ham.

Each endive is wrapped individually and delicately in a piece of boiled ham. Then it is covered in béchamel sauce and local cheese. It is usually served with mashed potatoes.

Carbonade flamande is basically a tasty beef and onion stew. The interesting part is that this is prepared in beer. The dish may look similar to a French dish called boeuf bourguignon. This dish has an earthy taste. It is often served with diced bacon or pancetta. There can be a hint of thyme and bay leaves.

Waterzooi is a traditional Flemish stew, made using either chicken or fish, with leeks, potatoes, carrots, cream, butter, and herbs. This dish tastes best when the weather is cold.

In cold weather in Belgium, you will surely see various stews on restaurant menus. However, the most popular choice will most likely be waterzooi. It tastes even better when relished with a fresh, crusty baguette.

Stoemps are simple, creamy, and rich mashed potatoes along with vegetables. These are usually carrots, leeks, and cabbage. The vegetables can be eaten raw.

This is served with a side dish of tender boudin blanc that is a white sausage made with meat and milk. To give the mash its extra-creamy texture, fresh cream is added. To enhance the flavors, shallots or onions and a few herbs and spices are added.

Belgian fries are a typical assortment of meats. Belgian fries are wrapped in a paper cone. This is the traditional way to serve them. They are eaten with mayonnaise and curry ketchup.

They are called french fries in the rest of the world, but these are common to Belgian households. You can find them easily in every nook and corner, even in fast food stalls. You can get them on colored paper with ketchup on the flap.

When you order a larger portion, they are served in cardboard trays. Other street foods, like frikandel, gehaktbal or kroket, are sold there. The majority of Belgian households own a deep fryer so they can prepare a fresh batch of fries at home.

Belgium produces a huge number of beers daily. There are different styles available. Brewing in Belgium began in the early Middle Ages. The Trappist Monasteries still produce their own special beer. This money is used to fund their expenses for maintenance.

Jenever is the national spirit designated by Belgium. This beverage has evolved from gin.

You may think that beer may be the most famous alcoholic beverage in Belgium, but jenever has been the country's traditional spirit for over 500 years. Jenever can only be produced in Belgium, the Netherlands, and close-by areas in France and Germany. Belgian jenever is one of the best-kept and reserved secrets in the liquor industry.

For centuries now, jenever has been preserved and bottled in clay jugs. These are generally handcrafted. Its iconic shape is unique to jenever. Traditionally, Belgian jenever is served in full shot glasses. They are filled to the brim in shot glasses that have been in the freezer.

There are certain ways of drinking jenever. Firstly, the glass is kept on the table. Then, you bend down and drink the first sip. The catch is that you do not hold the glass. Once this traditional first step has been performed, the rest of the drink is consumed normally.

Last but not least, Belgium is famous for chocolate. There are various chocolates depending on the amount of cocoa, and all the other fruits or special ingredients added.

A Typical Belgian Breakfast

A typical Belgian breakfast is quite similar to what is eaten all over the European Union.

Belgian people do not like to have famous Belgian waffles for breakfast. They are just a snack for them. They prefer having slices of bread, toasted or untoasted.

They eat it with several marmalades, jams, and even chocolate syrup or nut spread. They may have them with just a bar of chocolatey. They also like to have other toppings on the bread, such as slices of meat or cheese.

Pastries and croissants are preferred only on Sundays. The locals do not eat these on weekdays. Belgians enjoy a cup of coffee, tea, fresh juice, or hot chocolate, along with breakfast.

How The New World Food Became Heavily Associated With Belgium During The 18th Century

Belgium is famous for many dishes other than chocolate. You may be surprised to know that mussels found there are large and taste amazing.

If you have a sweet tooth and love to eat chocolates and waffles, then Belgium is a haven for you. There are more than 2,000 chocolatiers. Some are huge and export their products, while a few can only be relished in person.

Another interesting fact is that Belgium has been associated with chocolate since 1635 when it was under Spanish occupation. By the mid-18th century, there was a change in flavors all over the world. Chocolate had now become the top on the list of favorites.

Upper and middle-class people were infatuated by this new flavor of chocolate. They loved to have a cup of hot chocolate. In the early 20th century, Belgium had started to import large quantities of cocoa as a raw material for chocolate from its African colony, also called the Belgian Congo.

The form of chocolate that we all love is that of a chocolate bar. Praline was invented by the Belgian chocolate industry. Today in Belgium, 172,000 tonnes of chocolate is produced each year and exported worldwide.

The special composition of Belgian chocolate is fixed; it has been defined by law since 1884. This has been done to prevent adulteration with low-quality fats. So, a minimum of 35% pure cocoa is a must in chocolate.

No vegetable-based fats are used. Many factories produce Belgian chocolates by hand. Though it is laborious, it also explains why there are small and independent chocolate outlets. These are native to the streets of Belgium. You can only taste these in person.

The Region Of Belgium That Produces The Most Food

The whole country of Belgium is famous for making chocolate.

Most organic farms are in the Walloon Region. This is the place where conventional farming still exists in the hilly region. Most pastures are used for dairy production. This enables farmers to be certified. They do not have to make major changes in the way they perform farming practices.

Conventional agricultural practices are used in northern Belgium and the Flanders Region. These are rather intensive.

They are used for the production of fruit and vegetables. Although, as of now, only a few farmers have converted to organic farming. A recent policy adjustment has been brought forward to help these farmers.

Subsidies per hectare have been announced for organic vegetable production so as to make it triple in Belgium. This is expected to create a significant increase in organic farmers in the northern region or the Flanders Region in the next few years.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked reading our Belgium food facts, then why not take a look at our other fascinating articles on facts about Jeju City, Korea or our facts all about ancient Indian architecture?