Salty liquorice

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Two German brands of salmiak.

Swedish salty liquorice "Djungelvrål".

Salty liquorice or salmiak (salmiakki in Finnish) is a variety of liquorice (confectionery) that contains a relatively large amount of ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl, "salmiac") in addition to the liquorice root extract, sugar, and starch or gum arabic that constitute normal liquorice. Salty liquorice is somewhat of an acquired taste and is not generally appreciated outside of Scandinavia, Northern Germany and the Netherlands.^{[citation needed]} Ammonium chloride has a spicy taste that vaguely resembles that of sodium chloride (table salt). However, salty liquorice does not contain any sodium chloride. Although some types of regular liquorice can also contain a small amount of ammonium chloride, salty liquorice can contain up to about 8 percent of ammonium chloride. Moreover, the salty taste is typically less masked by a high sugar content compared to regular liquorice.^[1]

Salty liquorice candies are almost always black or very dark brown and can range from very soft to very hard and may be brittle. The other colours used are white and variants of grey. Carbon black is used as a food colouring agent in these candies.

1 National varieties
2 Availability
3 Other uses
4 References
- 4.1 Books
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] National varieties

Salty liquorice is popular in the Nordic countries and Northern Germany, as well as the Netherlands and the Baltic states. In the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, it is called salty liquorice: salmiakk/saltlakris (Norwegian), zoute drop (Dutch), saltlakrids (Danish), saltlakrits (Swedish) and saltlakkrís (Icelandic), in German it's called Salzlakritze as in the other countries or Salmiaklakritze since pure ammonium chloride is called Salmiaksalz in colloquial language.

The Latin term for ammonium chloride is sal ammoniac. In Finnish, the candies are usually called salmiakki, although this can also refer to other products containing ammonium chloride. The terms salmiakkimakeinen (salmiac candy) or salmiakkilakritsi (salmiac liquorice) are also sometimes used. For pure ammonium chloride, the term raakasalmiakki (raaka = raw) can be used, if necessary.

In Finland Salmiakki was once a trade name of Fazer, but quickly became a genericized trademark not unlike nylon. The canonical shape for Finnish salmiakki candies is a black diamond-shaped lozenge. This shape is so popular that in Finnish, the word "salmiakki" can sometimes refer to this shape, instead of the candy. For example, Finnish Defence Forces reserve officer students rank insignia are known as "salmiakki"s for their distinctive shape. However, especially in other countries, different shapes are used. In Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian, the candies are sometimes called salmiaklakrits, salmiaklakrids, and salmiakklakris, respectively, where salmiak(k) refers to the ammonium chloride ingredient. In Dutch, the term salmiakdrop usually refers to salty liquorice with a high concentration of ammonium chloride. Also readily available in the Netherlands is a powder-based candy called Salmiak which comes in sweet and salty flavours.

[edit] Availability

Salty liquorice is not readily available in the rest of the world^{[citation needed]}, although the Sweden-based furniture chain IKEA sells it among their small assortment of typical Swedish food products.^{[citation needed]} It can also be found at Cost Plus World Market in the candy section of its gourmet department. The largest selection of black salty licorice is found in the Scandinavian town of Poulsbo in Washington State. The store's licorice shrine houses over 250 kinds of black licorice from Holland, Germany, Finland, and Norway. The online site is www.marinamarket.com [1] It is also sold at other ethnic food stores, specialty candy stores and by mail order in the U.S. and Canada.

[edit] Other uses

In addition to being used in candy, salmiak is also used to flavour vodka, distilled rye brandy, ice cream, cola drinks, and recently, meat ("Salmiakkipossu" is a brand of salmiak-flavoured pork, probably named as a pun on "Salmiakkikossu", meaning salmiak-flavoured Koskenkorva). It is also often used as a salty treat for various pets like horses and monkeys.