Originating in Persia \u2013 the wild tulip grew here\nabout 1,000 years ago \u2013 it was first cultivated and grafted by the Turks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, the name “tulip” comes from the Persian “tulipan”, which means “turban”. It refers to the shape of the tulip bulb that looks like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A VERY SHORT ONE\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Around 1550, Turkey was a great power, led by\nthe wealthy Sultan Suleyman. Yes, yes, the one from the soap opera Suleyman the Magnificent<\/strong> :).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gardens of his palace were full of the most\nbeautiful tulips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sultan gave a few tulip\nbulbs to the Austrian ambassador to his court, who, in turn, gave them to the\nDutch botanist and horticulturist Carolus\nClusius<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said “well, man, thanks!”\nand took the bulbs to Holland and planted them there in 1593. And that’s how it\nall started…<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tulip became extremely\npopular in the Netherlands during the 17th century. In fact, it was one of the\nmost valuable commodities in the country! The “Tulip mania” <\/strong>had appeared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The tulip was a real\ncurrency, its value being quoted as the shares. It is assumed that the term\n“bourse” (“stock exchange”) dates back to those times, as\nthose who speculated on the tulip market often gathered in the house of the\nnoble van Bourse family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hysteria had reached\nsuch a point that in 1636, at the height of the fever for tulip bulbs, some\nrare bulbs traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange were sold for the price of a\nluxurious house on the Grand Canal! Or another rare bulb has\nbeen paid for with a land of almost 50,000 square meters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tulip has remained the “star” of the country from then until today. The Netherlands currently produces about 90% of the global supply of tulips!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Correct Answer: Yes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n I would never have imagined\nthis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this did not happen\nlike that, “for fun”, but out of a stringent need!<\/p>\n\n\n\n During World War II, more\nprecisely during the last year, in ’44, ’45, the Dutch were under Nazi\noccupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Nazis imposed strict\nfood rationalization (it got the worst in February 1945, when a person’s daily\nration contained only 340 calories!), had restrictions on agriculture, stopped\nsupplies arriving at sea, to punish them for disobedience and a lot more…<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if those weren’t enough,\nthe Dutch were in even bigger trouble: they had a very, very hard winter, which\nfroze the canals and made it impossible to transport any goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than 20,000 people\ndied in that winter of famine<\/strong>, as history called the\nperiod, and their deaths were largely due to malnutrition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But here is where the\nrescue came from…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to the war situation,\ntulip growers did not plant the bulbs that year. Thus, farms across the country\nhad large quantities stored. Authorities have decided to use these stocks as\nfood for the hungry population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They had discovered that\ntulip bulbs had a lot of calories \u2013 more than a potato! So the old, dried bulbs\nbegan to be sold in grocery stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a challenge for the\nDutch government to persuade the people to eat tulip bulbs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newspapers published\nrecipes, flyers were distributed, cooking demonstrations were held, doctors had\nalso begun to give advice to the population, explaining how to use and prepare\nthe bulbs, to protect people from side effects. Mainly, tulip bulb flour was\nmade for bread, and soup or stew was prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No Dutchman would have ever\nthought that he would end up eating tulip bulb soup in order to survive, given\nthe average degree of toxicity, but especially considering the long history of\nbulbs having a commercial value in the Netherlands…<\/p>\n\n\n\n What had seemed absurd\nbefore, had now become their chance to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even the famous actress Audrey Hepburn<\/strong>, originally from Belgium, having to move with her whole family to the Netherlands during World War II, said that she ate tulip bulbs in order to survive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was very curious to know\nif these bulbs are still being eaten anywhere today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are still families\nwho have tulip recipes \u2013 from soups to cooked food. I don’t think they are\npreparing anymore, considering that it’s something that has marked their lives\nbadly…<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I’m surprised to find\nout that there are several restaurants in the Netherlands that have tulip bulbs\non the menu! (Here’s a good reason to come back hihi)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several Chefs in\nfine-dining restaurants who have recently discovered tulip bulbs as an\ningredient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caf\u00e9\nCaron <\/strong>in\nAmsterdam and De Librije <\/strong>in Zwolle are\ntwo of the locations. And in the Michelin-starred restaurant, De Nieuwe Winkel<\/strong>, organic Yokohama\nbulbs (that give us the yellow tulips) are among the most expensive items on\nthe menu!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The explanation would be\nthat it takes a bulb some 5 to 7 seasons to become the right one. The chef of\nthe restaurant even says that the bulbs are a luxury product, even more\nexpensive than caviar, if you take into account the time and energy…<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the tulip bulbs\nthat people ate during World War II cannot be compared to those of today. Those\nwere old and dry and tasted extremely bitter. A fresh tulip bulb has, as far as\nI understand, a sweet, milky taste, which is not bad at all. Well, it is for\nme, as they say it has the taste of onions … (By the way, the bulb is a close\nrelative of onions and garlic.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the bulbs have more\ncalories than a potato, I’d rather stick to the potatoes :). To those fried,\nwith mayonnaise, that you keep eating until you become double in size!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you ever think to\nprepare a bulb stew? You need to make sure that they are good to eat, that they\nwere grown organically. Because most bulbs are treated with pesticides and it\nwould not be advisable to boil them, because after that you will call 911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The petals, however, are even more edible, so to speak. They\ncan be eaten raw or cooked, but lose a lot of color when cooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on the variety, the taste of the petals varies from\none similar to that of green beans, to that of cucumbers, or to the taste of\nsalad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have never got to see the tulip fields in\nflower on my 7 visits to Amsterdam. I was in the summer, in the winter, or in late\nspring, too late for tulips. So this year I planned to come at the end of\nApril, when I knew I could see tulips not only for sale in the Flower Market or\nelsewhere, but also in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, I found out that there is a famous\ntulip park, where you are left speechless in front of dozens of varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I got online and bought a trip to the Keukenhof \u2013 the famous park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I paid 39 euros which included the trip there\nand back (departure and return point \u2013 Amsterdam Central Station), the entrance\nticket and an audio guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Given that the entrance ticket to the park costs\n19 euros (9 euros for children) if you take it at the entrance, I’d say it was\nworth it, considering that the travel from Amsterdam to the park is one of\nabout 45 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The place can be reached very easily by car. You\nhave a parking lot right in front, which costs 6 euros, one price, no matter\nhow many hours you leave your car there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I photographed from the bus everything that was\ncolored in the distance hihi. I was delighted to see the tulip fields and it\ndidn’t matter how the pictures came out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arriving at the destination, we all got off and\u2026\nwent off!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We had 4 hours to see the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Keukenhof was, in the 15th century, the\ngarden for the kitchen of a castle. From here they took their vegetables\u2026 Over\ntime, the property grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the middle of the 19th century, two landscape\narchitects \u2013 father and son (who also designed the Vondelpark public park <\/strong>in Amsterdam), redesigned the castle gardens\nin an English style. What they did then is still the basis of today’s Keukenhof\npark!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the middle of the 20th century, at the\ninitiative of some bulb producers and exporters, the park became a spring park\nand was open to the public, with great success, being now the largest flower\ngarden in the world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being a spring flower park, it is only open for two months a year! I have no idea what happens to it for the rest of the year, but it is clearly open to the public when the public has something to see\u2026 That is, from mid-March to mid-May. That’s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I came on the last day of April and, in some places, the tulips were already cut (they cut them, they do not let the stem dry, because this tires the bulb. So it grows, they take it out in the summer and\u2026 I don’t know the process further \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 150 species of tulips and 3,000\nvarieties in the world. The truth is that what I saw here in the park surpassed\nmy imagination!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a fan of tulips, you’ll die of so\nmuch pleasure here. If you don’t like flowers and your girlfriend\/wife has\nbrought you here, take some painkillers beforehand, because you have a lot to\nsee and you will be dizzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The park is very beautiful, so you don’t get bored. And, when you say you’ve seen them all, there’s another kind of tulip that surprises you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Giant Orange Sunrise\n<\/strong>Tulip. The truth is\nthat I have never seen a tulip with such a big flower in my life! I kept trying\nto make it visible in the photo that it was as big as a baby’s head\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n I thought about going to our florists to look\nfor it, but the sellers will be scared when I ask for: “a huge orange\nsunrise bouquet”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Avant Garde <\/strong>Tulip. So disheveled! It looks as if exploded…<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of my favorite in the park: Rasta Parrot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reine de Lairesse<\/strong> Tulip<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Parrot<\/strong> Tulip<\/p>\n\n\n\n Queensland<\/strong> Tulip<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Miranda <\/strong>tulip, which immediately made me think of our peonies. By the way, did you know that peony <\/strong>is our national flower? I had no idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don’t know what this tulip is called, but I think it’s something like Everest, because it has a shocking height! I think the tallest ones get up to my belly button!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I walk in all directions, on all the main,\nsecondary, straight, circular alleys and I still don’t know if I manage to see\nall the tulips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m taking selfies one after the other. What calms\nme down is that everyone in the park is desperate to take pictures of the\ntulips and selfies. I’m not the only one\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beautiful black tulip, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, there is no such thing as a “black\ntulip”. The darkest in color is, in fact, a hybrid from red tulips. So what,\ncan’t we call it the “black tulip”? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one I came across in the Keukenhof is called\nNightwish.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I find out that the rarest tulip is the blue one<\/strong>. Hm, I think that the ones I\nsaw in Bucharest, sold by some flower-girls, are colored with ink\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you get tired of tulips, you can enchant your eyes with other flowers. There are several pavilions scattered around the park, where you can find a variety of flower exhibitions, unique arrangements, and where you can buy all kinds of flower stuff, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the time I spent at the orchid pavilion<\/strong>, called Beatix (royal name). Beautiful varieties, beautiful arrangements, a good source of ideas for your own apartment. If you have a big one\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mill <\/strong>is an important landmark on the park map. I had\nheard from the beginning “you have to get to the mill, go up to see the\ntulip fields”. Could I have not gone there?… Anyway, I couldn’t miss it,\nbecause at some point it appears on your way among the tulips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climbing up to the mill did not impress me much,\nbecause those long-dreamed fields were not there, all full of tulips. Only a\nfew were in bloom. I don’t know if it was too early for some varieties or if they\nhad already been cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Near the mill there is an area with souvenir\nshops, with food stuff, a place where you can sit on very nice benches to rest\nyour feet, not your eyes, as there are tulips here too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn’t rest them, because I had some\ncomfortable clogs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n My new Louboutin shoes from Holland hihi. And\nlet’s go, man! I was only halfway there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After about two hours in the Keukenhof, I couldn’t\nsee straight:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tulips, pavilion, tulips, souvenir shop, tulips,\nanother pavilion, tulips and\u2026 wait, some loud music to be heard over a few\ngroups of tulips and trees. I thought it was going to be a children’s show,\nsome magic, I couldn’t see what it was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I arrived in “the clearing”, I\nsaw what it was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A huge, beautifully crafted music box gathered people\nin front of it. So I stood there, watching each element, then I realized that I\ncould see the mechanism behind too, which fascinated me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, it’s been 4 hours and tens of thousands of\ntulips\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hurried to the parking lot, not to miss the\nbus, because the driver threatened us not to wait for us for a minute. (Update:\nThat was exactly what happened!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In almost an hour’s drive, I realized how many\ntulips I had photographed in the park:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/suleyman.jpeg\")
<\/a>TULIP HISTORY<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>CAN TULIP BULBES BE EATEN???<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWHERE TO EAT TULIP BULBS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTULIP SEASON IN THE NETHERLANDS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nKEUKENHOF<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n