Zalig buiteneten

De idealisatie van het landleven en de relatie tot eten in de zeventiende-eeuwse Nederlanden

Samenvatting

In the seventeenth century the Dutch Republic saw some striking developments around local, seasonal, and self-sufficient foods; trends that resonate in present-day western cities. For prosperous Dutchmen an idyllic country life was the ideal escape from the
overcrowded cities. These men and women started purchasing ‘buitenplaatsen’ (country villas), and literature about outdoor living became a popular genre: the outdoors were healthier, more advantageous, more entertaining, and more blessed than the city. This
idealisation of country living influenced food on the buitenplaats, and the other way around. An important consequence of this development was that people started to grow their own crops. This was accelerated by the isolation of these villas and the publication of literature on the subject. During this ‘country wave’, food developed a significant role through which layers of meaning were revealed. Identities and virtues, such as Calvinism and commensality, were communicated through food in the buitenplaats.