Dutch Cuisine: The Netherlands are famous for their dairy products (milk, butter, yogurt), and especially for cow cheese. The majority of Dutch cheeses are hard or semi-hard, sometimes with added spices such as cloves or cumin, among the most popular cheeses are the Goudse, Edammer, Leidse. Among the typical foods are bread, gingerbread (koek), raw, smoked or salted herring, potatoes, soups, pannekoeken (stuffed omelettes that can be sweet or savory), croquettes filled with meat or cheese and vegetables). Because of the Dutch colonial past, the cuisine of the Netherlands has undergone considerable influence from foods and Asian dishes. Since the end of the sixteenth century many spices and typical products of Asia, but also from many other parts of the world, were introduced in Dutch cuisine. Today many traditional dishes are flavored with spices and herbs from Southeast Asia, a few dishes from the Dutch East India (Indonesia) have become part of the culinary Dutch tradition among them the Nasi Goreng (rice with chicken or pork) and the Rijsttafel, that is from 12 to 30 small portions of various dishes with rice and spices. Among the desserts are the appeltart (apple cake with fresh whipped cream), siropwaffels (wafel filled with sugar syrup), hagels (flakes of chocolate spread on bread with butter), poffertijes (small pannekoeken to eat with hot butter and icing sugar), and the drop (candy licorice). Among the beers the most famous brands are Heineken, Amstel and Grolsch. Another typical alcoholic beverage is the Janever, juniper brandy.