New stamps depict food from the Netherlands, Japan and Singapore

New Stamps of the World by Denise McCarty

A new series of stamps from the Netherlands features food that is typical of that country.

Called Typically Dutch, the series began Jan. 2 with a stamp honoring the smoked sausage known as rookworst.

The TasteAtlas website, which describes itself as an encyclopedia of flavors, said: “Rookworst is a Dutch smoked sausage made with either pork, pork and beef, or pork and veal, but in recent years there’s also a turkey-based rookworst that’s available in most Dutch stores. The meat is typically flavored with saltpeter, nutmeg, and sugar before it is placed into pork intestines and left to smoke over smouldering woodchips.”

The nondenominated, domestic-rate stamp (currently €0.91) depicts the sausage on a plain white plate with a fork on one side and a knife on the other. Above the plate is “Mmm … Rookworst” in a cursive font and below it is the logo for the series: two folded Dutch banners on either side of the inscription “Typisch Nederlands.”

The stamp is sold in a pane of six, which includes the logo and “Mmm … Rookworst” in the selvage above the stamps. A photograph in the selvage shows rookworst, brown bread and a bowl of pea soup on a cutting board sitting on top of a checked blue and white tablecloth.

Edwin van Praet of Total Design in Amsterdam designed the stamp and pane, using photographs by Scrambled Media. Joh. Enschede printed the issue by four-color offset.

The Netherlands’ post office, PostNL, reports that the series will continue with stamps featuring carrots, Feb. 24; hagelslag (sprinkles), March 23; tompouce (a pastry), April 6; and bitterballen (deep-fried meatballs), June 15.

Japan

Japan Post introduced a new stamp series Jan. 15 showcasing regional cuisine.

The first set in this Delicious Japan (Oishii Nippon) series includes 20 stamps showing prepared foods, ingredients and seasonings associated with Fukuoka, a city famous for its food.

The stamps are in two panes of 10 that can be folded. The stamps in one pane are denominated 63 yen to pay the standard postcard rate, and the stamps in the other pane are denominated 84y for the basic domestic letter rate.

The 63y stamps are square, and many of the designs present ingredients typically found in a Fukuoka kitchen, including a bottle of soy sauce, a package of ramen noodles and raw vegetables.

The 10 84y stamps are round. Among the prepared dishes displayed on these stamps is Hakata, or tonkotsu, ramen, one of the city’s specialty dishes, according to the Wow! Japan tourist website, which said, “If you talk about ramen in Fukuoka, no other ramen would come to mind than tonkotsu ramen, which is characterized by its milk-white soup made with pork bones and its fine noodles.”

Another stamp depicts ozoni, or zoni, a soup traditionally consumed on New Year’s Day in Japan.

Cartor SA, a security printer in France, produced these Japanese stamps.

Singapore

Singapore welcomed the Year of the Rat with two stamps issued in separate panes of 10 Jan. 8 and a souvenir sheet of one issued Jan. 24, the eve of the Lunar New Year.

The souvenir sheet shows a family sharing a reunion dinner.

In describing this sheet, Singapore Post said: “Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is one of the most important festivals among the Chinese community in Singapore. On the eve of Chinese New Year, family members will return home for a reunion dinner —an annual feast and significant tradition to reaffirm love and togetherness with one another.”

Depicted on the $8 stamp in the center of the souvenir sheet is a hot pot, a stew of fish and vegetables.

Singapore Post said: “Family members will gather around a hot pot of bubbling broth filled with delicious ingredients, and everyone from young to old will enjoy the sumptuous dinner in a joyful spirit. The simmering steamboat represents more than just good food, as the gathering over the feast is also a symbolic way to strengthen family bonding, sharing happiness with one another and wishes for a bountiful year ahead.”

Andy Koh designed the souvenir sheet, and Cartor printed it by offset.

Lim An-Ling, an animator and illustrator, designed the two Year of the Rat stamps. The nondenominated domestic-rate (30¢) stamp shows a symbolic pink rat on a white background, and the $1.40 stamp features a white rat on a pink background.

Southern Colour Print of New Zealand printed these stamps. The nondenominated stamp was also issued as a self-adhesive in a booklet of 10.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter
    Like us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter