In search of pindakaas

It all started with a dangerously wonderful Pinterest recipe I found last winter.  Before I discovered the holy grail of homemade apple dip, I could have walked away from peanut butter for months without a second thought.  Over the past year, however, I've grown to depend on this concoction (1 part peanut butter + 1 part Greek yogurt + 1/2 part honey - go try it!), eating it almost daily.

Spotted the problem?  Europe is a peanut butter dead zone.  Before leaving, I even messaged several friends living abroad in the hopes that someone knew of a place where I could pick up a jar or stock up on several, but no one had any ideas.  I had resigned myself to a peanut butter-less existence.

Fast forward to last Saturday.  After landing in Amsterdam, navigating through public transit with extra train construction obstacles, and getting fantastically lost for four hours in a tricky, endless loop of canals attempting to find my elusive hostel on foot, I was free of my suitcase and ready to wander.  I had been in Europe for about six hours when I spotted it on Leidsestraat, ten minutes from the hostel:  A green awning advertising "U.S. and British Food" over a small grocery shop called Eichholtz Delicatessen.  I bit the bullet and walked in; there, amidst the Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, and Triscuits, I found it.

So, as the proud and very content owner of two jars of Skippy, I'll introduce my first Dutch word of the day - pindakaas - which, of course, means "peanut butter".  As a side note, kaas typically refers to "cheese", so they basically call it "peanut cheese".