The Netherlands are well-known for their excellent cheeses, the most notable being  gouda and edam. Dutch cheese shops are fantastic  worlds of cheese piled up in various shapes and sizes, with holes, mold or crusts and in different colours.  Here you can choose between factory cheese produced from standard pasteurised milk, or various organic farm cheeses made from the milk of grazing cows. You can choose from jonge and oude, or young and soft  versus old and crumbly cheeses. In terms of chocolates, the largest producers in the country are  the Droste, Verkade, and van Houten trio, delivering  delicious slices from quality cocoa and milk.

The Delft Blue, Holland's famous pottery, is mostly associated with the Delft producers De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles and De Delftse Pauw. Delftware, a term which applies to all local hand-painted pottery with references to blue-and-white Chinese porcelain, is also available in red and white patterns. Makkumware, on the other hand, mostly  refers to Dutch polychrome pottery originating from the town of Makkum. This type of pottery is produced by the continously-operating company of Koninklijke Tichelaars, established in the late 16th Century.  Genuine pottery can  be found only in specialised antique shops, but can also be ordered directly from the producers themselves. Visitors might also want to purchase these from workshops in Delft or in Makkum, where  craftsmen still assiduously paint  potteries, following a centuries-long tradition. Hand-made decorations make the objects unique, but also rather costly.

Diamonds, an Amsterdam specialty since the 15th Century, are a further great buy to look forward to while in the country. Most  shops adhere to the Netherlands’ reputation as a world diamond jewelry centre, and issue certificates for their diamonds, which include information about the carat weight, cut and color, plus additional identifying data. Either offered in classic cut, a pear shape, an oval, rectangular, or long and narrow, Dutch diamonds are equally spectacular. Prices vary in accordance to the accuracy of the cut, the clarity and the colour. The whiter and clearer diamonds are the ones of better quality.
 
Dutch tulips, available in all kinds of breeds and colours,  make up some 800 varieties. Distributors and breeders of tulips can send combination packages directly to your home, those including tulip bulbs coordinated in accordance with the colours of the flowers that will grow out of them. You should note that some  tulips flower in January, while others blossom in May and June. Bulbs can be purchased from many flower markets and local producers. Note that some of the bulbs don't have to be certified for entry into your home country, so you might need to obtain a phytosanitary certificate.