A typical Dutch fast food invention: The Bitterbal. No gathering of people at a semi-or very official occasion will be complete without this snack. It's a very dangerous snack also: you never know how hot the ragout inside the ball will be! Baked in oil of about 180 degrees Celsius (= 356 degrees Fahrenheit) the outside can feel less warm then the inside. So, you'll see people biting their balls very tenderly. Mostly the ball will be picked with a little wooden stick, sometimes decorated with a small paper feature looking like the Dutch flag. It's common to drink a lot of beer while eating the bitterbal. And than start a conversation with someone standing next to you, who just had a bite of hot ragout and is trying to cool it by gasping air into his or her mouth.Pen and ink and watercolor.
