Licorice Love

“Salty liquorice, salmiak liquorice or salmiac liquorice, is a variety of liquorice flavoured with salmiak salt (sal ammoniac; ammonium chloride), and is a common confection found in the Nordic countries, Benelux, and northern Germany. Salmiak salt gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste, akin to that of tannins—a characteristic of red wines, which adds bitterness and astringency to the flavour. Consuming salmiak liquorice can stimulate either a savoury or non-savoury palate and response. Anise oil can also be an additional main ingredient in salty liquorice. Extra-salty liquorice is additionally coated with salmiak salt or salmiak powder, or sometimes table salt.”

Ordered these and wasn’t sure if they’d be terrible or good. Or even edible. I mean….. licorice watermelon seeds? Opened the package, popped some some into my mouth and wow, they were good! I kept eating them. They remind me of crunchy roast pumpkin seeds but if they were dipped in a kind of licorice barbecue sauce before roasting. I don’t know what made the Japanese think of this (maybe flavored watermelon seeds are a thing there?) but in any case, think this is the first Asian licorice I’ve ever had, so yay! It’s taking a few days to get through. Eating too many of these seeds probably not a good idea.

Jumbo licorice jelly beans from Sweet As Fudge in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Perfect jellybeans!

Delicious salmiak licorice Läkerol. The candies come in many flavors but this one is a strong salmiak & salt licorice. Very good!

The End

Licorice spirals from St. George’s Market in Belfast. Quality soft, mild licorice. Yum.

P.S. There were only four of them. Now there are one.

These Nordic Sweets are pretty great. Salted with salmiak, they’re made up of black licorice wrapped around a softer filling which also seems to be licorice. Made in Denmark.

Every time a well-meaning friend gifts me with something like this, I really wonder how they can think it’s licorice. I mean, sure, it’s in the name, but...

Picked up some licorice in Minnesota, since of course I did. Found these at a Nordic shop at Midtown Global Market, located in the old Sears building. I’ve had Läkerol before, but not that flavor. The Finnish tire tracks licorice should be good, and the salted salmiak sticks too. Will review them here.

Fish heads! This bag of Hamburg Fischköpfe was a gift from friends of mine. As usual it took me ages to get around to opening it, because I have so much licorice but I’m careful not to burn through it. I also only open one bag at a time. Anyway, these are a mild salt licorice gummy, much like Salty Herring (Salzige Herringe) but straight instead of curled, less salt too. They have salmiak. This would probably be a good “intro” to salmiak and salt licorice as it’s not too strong, unlike say anything Dutch.

Honestly don’t believe there’s any licorice at all in these “licorice drops” but they’re tasty. A bit like root beer. Sold by a company in Nevada, made in Mexico. I believe these were a present from a coworker.

Made in Portland, Jacobsen Salty Black Licorice is a sort of soft licorice toffee. A good friend from my work brought it back from a visit to Oregon. Frankly it’s not my favorite. Dare I say it’s too salty? Possibly because it’s missing salmiak as a counter. Also, the candies are so soft that when you bite into them, all the salt hits you at once, like you swallowed a teaspoon of salt. It might be better dropped into coffee.

I've told my dear friend and occasional supplier Caleb no more licorice, or at least no more Italian, as long as I have mega stockpile, but alright, if he finds something different, maybe. He brought back lovely things from the Eataly supermarket in Chicago. They're basically licorice M&M's -- hard shell with chocolate inside and a bit of licorice. Just a bit! I love them and honestly this tiny tin is not adequate! Not sure I can make this last. They're M&M's made by Amarelli for goodness sake!