Taste of Holland Cookbook Review - Collectibility
Since I am a Dutchman, I thought it would be fitting to review a Taste of Holland cookbook with recipes from my native country -- The Netherlands (Holland). The Dutch tend to eat dishes from all over the world. Many people have asked me, what is the food like in Holland? It's always hard to answer as Indian food is to England or Mexican food is to California, Indonesian or French food are to The Netherlands. The Dutch have a little bit of everything which makes it such a nice place to visit. You can find food from all regions of the world in Amsterdam where I lived for several years before moving to the States. My wife says the pancakes, pastries and desserts are the only things she misses about the Dutch food. I of course miss a lot, from the salted herring to my mother's Indonesian Kip Sate met Pindasaus (chicken satay with peanut sauce).
A Taste of Holland, like so many of the Dutch cookbooks I've come across, are thin...with minimal recipes. The book has one recipe per page and is a brief book but the author does try and give some Dutch background about the foods which makes it a little more interesting.
Cookbook Title: A Taste of Holland Cookbook
Author: Swanny Bosch
Publisher: Arts and Crafts Book Mfg. Spokane, WA
Copyright: 1977 (out-of-print)
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket, 144 pages
Specialization Categories: Dutch Cookbooks, European Cookbooks, Vintage Cookbooks
Average Price: $4-5 used
Noted Recipes: Rode Kool (Spiced Red Cabbage), Vlees (Meat) Croquettes Pannekoeken (Real Holland Pancakes), Oliebollen (Dutch Doughnuts), Limburgse Vlaaien (Limburg Pies/Tarts)
COOKBOOK COLLECTIBILITY RATINGS RATINGS EXPLAINED
Availability: 1.0
Popularity: 1.0
Investment Outlook: 3.0
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Final Collectibility Factor: 1.67
A Taste of Holland Cookbook - Availability Rating - 1.0
This cookbook is scarce. In fact, I couldn't find a single copy available online, only a mention of it in Amazon with an "Out of Print" next to it. None of the major book sites carried it. My copy is not even a store copy, it is a signed cookbook, but an old withdrawn library cookbook. I can't even venture the average price but I'd have to put it as just a few dollars.
A Taste of Holland Cookbook - Popularity Rating - 1.0
This book is likely an unknown. I believe the author is an unkown author as well, therefore I can only rank the book with the lowest popularity rating. This added with no available copies tells me it was not a mass published or popular book in its time. To be honest--I don't think the book delivers much value given it includes the bare basics of recipes. Still, if you are a Dutch expat like me, it could be inspiring and bring back memories of home.
A Taste of Holland Cookbook - Investment Outlook - 3.0
I've given the investment outlook rating a 3.0 since there are so few Dutch cookbooks (The Netherlands, not Pennsylvania Dutch) available. They are few and far between. I figure given its scarcity it could be an interesting collectible in The Netherlands, likely not in the United States.
A Taste of Holland Cookbook - Final Collectibility Factor Rating - 1.67
My Final Collectibility Factor Rating is sadly a 1.67, my lowest rating to date. Usually a book this scarce would be a truly unbelievable find but this book is virtually an unknown and not a very intersting cookbook. The format is simple, the recipes are simple...it's a step up from a "make your own cookbook" and now days with Tastebook, those are even beautiful and professional.
