The Licorice Thread

In My Humble Opinion
1

Let’s start off by making a few things perfectly clear.[list=A][li]There has never has and never will be such a thing as “red” licorice.[/li]
[li]There is only one licorice and that licorice is black licorice and so it shall remain.[/li]
[li]“Licorice is the liver of candies.”[/li][sup]Ralph Waldo Emerson[/sup]
[/list=A]Let’s face it, either you love it or hate it, there’s rarely any in between. Being of first generation Danish extraction, I’ve been eating licorice for my entire life. Some of the very first other non-Danish licorice I can remember is;[list=1][li]The little domed candies that have an “H” inside of a diamond on the top.[/li][sup]I believe the “H” stands for the Hiedi company.[/sup]

[li]A very bitter hard stick licorice made by Y&W that came in an orange box.[/li][sup]Anyone remember this? A ½" diameter by 6" long stick that was squashed at one end.[/sup]

[li]Sen Sen, in a little foil packet that had an almost soapy after taste.[/li][sup]Anyone remember this? Is it still around?[/sup]
[/list=1]In another post I’ll extoll the virtues of Danish licorice, this is just to get things started. Well, what about it? Do you love it or hate it? Many friends and girlfriends that I have known started out hating salted Danish licorice but ended up quite fond of it. To this day it is impossible for me to think about Danish licorice without salivating immediately. Try to remember that the Danes eat more licorice per capita than they eat chocolate.

To finish things up, a special licorice moment;

I was in Sweden in the dead of winter. When the thaw finally began, my cousin and I were hiking through the woods and he stopped at a mossy embankment and yanked out a little fern-like plant. Its root had a wonderful licorice like flavor, but did not look anything like true licorice root.

Anyone ever heard of this plant? Eurodopers?

2

“Either you love it or hate it…”

Well, I hate it. Yuck.

3

wrinkles her nose
Black licorice? Yuck!
Hey Zenster, buddy, care to have all my black jelly beans?

Kitty

4

How come there isn’t a “yuck” smiley?

5

I hate black licorice, and I hate red licorice. The only licorice I like is the brown (chocolate flavored) Twizzler kind.

6

I remember Sen-sen! I thought it was awful, BTW.

I don’t much like liquorice, though Callard & Bowser (English) Liquorice Allsorts rock. But I don’t think that’s really authentic liquorice.

7

I love licorice! I love anise flavored anything, even licorice ice cream, even though I admit it looks disgusting. (They shouldn’t try to color it black.)

So…I get all your black jelly beans, right?

Veb

8

I can’t count the number of times I have tried to disabuse someone of the notion that there is such a thing as “red” licorice. It seems that anything in the familiar long, twisty form is now thought of as licorice. Heresy!

For the “crack” of licorice, try a shot of Ouzo, a greek liquour that tastes like distilled Good’n’Plenties.

9

The jelly beans are all yours Veb! Yo, Fear, try Aalborg Akavit or Pernod for a switch, that Greek gasoline is brutal. You are also so spot on about twisty candy not being “licorice”.

My preferred licorice is Danish, black and salty! Ammonium chloride is used to achieve what can sometimes be an insane degree of saltiness with the candies. Although salted black licorice is manufactured in several European countries (i.e., Holland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Italy and Austria) the Danes have elevated it nearly to an art form. The variety of licorice is so great that there are stores in any large Danish city called Lakrids Boutiques (Licorice Boutiques).

These shops can easily have over one hundred different types of licorice candies. They range in styles from sweet to extremely salty, bonbon hard candies to powder form, rope to tiny pastilles. They have names ranging from Turkish Pepper Bombs to Black Powder, Spider Eggs to School Chalk, Pirates to Sailor’s Chaw. There is licorice chewing gum (Stimorol) and even licorice covered chocolate (gag).

The more conventional fruit flavored candies can have the most unconventional names. Imagine, if you will, a color package label showing an anthropomorphized cow sitting and cupping human located breasts with her hands. The name of the candy? “Big Tits,” this is not a joke, I have a package that I brought back with me. They were gummi style candies shaped like a pair of large breasts. A salty, fruit flavored candy was called “Pissing Ants” with a label depicting a back view of a humanized ant obviously relieving himself. Another crossover sweet and salty candy was called “Dead Flies” and one of the stronger ones was known as “Dog Farts” (showing a Basset emitting a distinctly visible fug).

The huge variety of licorice indicates the dedication that Danish companies have to their product. For that reason candy making methods normally applied to more expensive products are used in the manufacture of licorice. These techniques include using finely milled starch, gelatins and an amazing array of ingredients from eucalyptus oil to hot pepper. The range of flavors can literally be breath taking.

I’m hoping that Spiny Norman will step in and testify vouch for the voracious appetite of the Danes for their licorice. Coldfire should be capable of the same or better since Dutch salted licorice is some of the most widely distributed in the world. Maybe Coldie can tell us about one of the more historically authentic forms of licorice caller “Potter’s Linia” (a mentholated pepper pastille). At some point I’ll check in with a primer on readily available high quality licorice here in American.

10

Somewheres I gots a recipe for Pernod Cream Sauce. Pernod is like French Ouzo, but a bit smoother. My mother says it (Pernod, not sauce) tastes like Perigoric (sp?) that my sister had to take as a kid seein’ as how she had stomach problems. I love it.

11

Did anyone call me ? Sorry if I’m mumbling a bit, but those “Piratos” salt licorice coins have a tendency to lump together if you try to eat more than 4 at a time…

Yup, Danes consume salt licorice with a voracious appetite - it’s one of the things that Danish expats develop an intense longing for, along with Akvavit & black bread.

And licorice definitely has to be tar-black and salty - sweet English licorice is, well - so tame and bland, somehow. If the licorice itself isn’t enough, it’ll be rolled in Ammonium Chloride to give that extra kick. (And now my mouth is watering, thanks a lot, Zenster!) - I’ve even eaten Ammonium Chloride out of the container in the high school chem lab. (Don’t try this at home.) The only side effect I’ve noticed is that your heart rate rises a tad if you eat too much too fast.

“Turkish Pepper” is for the hard-core fanatic, it’s a hard (and, obviously, salty) licorice candy with a very strong-tasting, powdered core. Dissolving this in vodka (a blender might be employed to accelerate the process, though it can be hard on the blades) gives a surprisingly delicate candyshot, known as a “Black Pig” and responsible for teaching untold numbers of teenagers to drink in moderation. Another, rather yummy licorice liquor is called “North Sea Oil”. Ouzo, Pastis, Pernod, Arrak etc. do, IMHO, taste more of anise (sp?) than of licorice proper - not
that they aren’t delicious in their own right.

For years I’d never given any thought to licorice being a Danish specialty, but you can ask tater about the one I offered her in Dublin (I’d bought a kilo Piratos tax-free). While I offered out of the noblest motives (really!), I had a hell of a time convincing her it wasn’t a vicious prank.

Heh - the “funny” names for candy were an instant hit. Dog Farts, Big Tits (“How many can you fit in your mouth at once ?”), Sea Gull Droppings, Duckweed, Rubbish Tip etc. - what normal kid would not love to purchase a bag of those goodies ? There’s even a small theme park dedicated to the theme of candy with improper names.

Rats, now I’ll have to find someting to eat.

S. Norman

12

Sadly, America must have adopted British licorice making traditions. The key difference is the use of flour in its manufacture. As a binding agent it is gritty and makes a paste instead of disolving like a true candy. Callard and Bowser’s Allsorts is one of the more famous forms of licorice world wide. The short pieces of solid black licorice in the selection are very authentic in terms of the flavor that licorice historically has had. More like something that an apothecary would have prescribed as an herbal remedy.

Americans are most probably familiar with “vine” and rope licorice. These are also made with wheat binders and in no way resemble the Danish candies. To get some examples of what European licorice is like, go to a German or Scandinavian delicatessen and look for these brands:[list=A][li]Swedish brand Läkerol (lah-ka-rol):[ul]Special (red box) has a mildly salty licorice flavor, a classic candy.[/li][li]Original (green box) an older herbal recipe based on unsalted licorice.[/ul][/li][li]Dutch brand Klene (klea-ne[sup]?[/sup] ):[ul][/li][li]Dubble Zout (red label) is a strong (double) salted medium size pastille.[/li][li]Zout Drop (green label) a less salty larger size pastille.[/li][li]A bulk form of double salted drop that is a ¾" disc marked DZ.[/li][li]Another small diamond shape called Salmiak has a sharp salty flavor.[/ul][/li][li]German:[ul][/li][li]Kjats (cats) are a lightly salted licorice with a mild molasses or treacle flavor.[/ul][/li]In another post I will list some of the locations that drop ship Danish and Dutch licorice world wide.
PS: I want some of that “North Sea Oil” Spiny.

13

I tried to like Danish licorice, really I did. I figured, hey, it’s my old pal Snormy giving it to me, he wouldn’t give me anything nasty or foul, would he? Oh how wrong I was! Despite my desire to appear “cool” in my beloved Snormy’s eyes, I was forced to spit the horrid thing out, lest I vomit all over his shoes.

Now that wasn’t so bad, however we’d already had quite a few drinks by that point so I can’t say that my taste buds were in full working order.

And to be fair, I don’t like American licorice, English, German or French licorice, good n’ plenties, twizzlers or those vile anise candies they are always selling here (in Germany). I ain’t having none of that stuff!

14

Licorice sucks. 'Nuff said.

15

I am *very * particular about licorice.

I like Good & Plenty’s (only if they’re fresh)

I love a brand called “Little Panda” (a molassess based one)

hate black jelly beans.

16

Turkisk Peber is the best, spiny and tatertot. I eat it all the time. They now make it in a soft variant which could be used for the weak persons who can’t stand the bite of the original. My absolute favorite though is Djungelvrål, which is very salty but I could eat kilos of it. Has anyone tried it? I could send a bag of it or turkish pepper to anyone willing to pay for it + shipping.

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You dopers… you are truly my people.

In college, back in the Pleistocene, a roommate came back from Europe with a small bag of Danish licorice. He didn’t much care for it, and offered it around. By the time the bag was mostly empty, I was begging him to let me finish it off. And then I never heard of it again.

Until about a month ago, when I visited a Cost Plus here in Tucson, and found something labelled “Double Salted Danish Licorice”. Which, thanks to this thread, I’ve figured out is Klene Dubble Zout.

There’s a bag beside me now. Heaven. Bliss. Yum.

I never knew that this was such an integral part of the culture. Thanks for all the information; now at least I know that liking this stuff doesn’t make me a freak, or if it does, there’s a nation that’ll take me in.

Some fun side effects of having this stuff in America: You can amaze your friends by offering them a piece, watching them choke, gag, and spit it out, then letting them watch you enjoy it immensely. More effective if they don’t already know you’re weird.

Also, smiling widely at strangers while in the middle of a couple of pieces can get dramatic reactions. No idea why…

18

[DDG joins hands with Wring and together they lumber around in an awkward circle, grunting primitively]

**GOOD-N-**plenty!
**GOOD-N-**plenty!

All hail the Holy Pinkness and Whiteness, with the Holy Blackness inside!

**GOOD-N-**plenty!
**GOOD-N-**plenty!

All hail the crispy crunchy sweet outsideness!

**GOOD-N-**plenty!
**GOOD-N-**plenty!

All hail the chewy yet tender insideness!

**GOOD-N-**plenty!
**GOOD-N-**plenty!

DOOM DOOM DOOM to the south side Kroger store that chooses to stock Jolly Ranchers instead of the Holy Good N Plentys. May their display of Honey Nut Cheerios topple mysteriously in the middle of Saturday afternoon rush hour.

All praise to the north side Kroger store that scrupulously stocks the Most Holy and Celebrated Candy without fail. May there never be any insects in their broccoli.

And may Anise, the God of Licorice, shower blessings on Farm & Fleet, for stocking their Own Brand of the Mysterious Ambrosia at 2/3 the cost of the brand name, even if it is all the way across town. May their computers never crash.

19

Strawberry twizzlers might not be considered licorice to a purist, but I love it. I’m also partial to Starburst fruit twists, which are similar in texture.

20

Licorice is good!