Salmiakki

I'm not sure if I've written about this before, but one of the most popular candies in Finland is salty licorice, or salmiakki, as it's known in Finnish. The name salmiakki comes from the fact that the incredibly salty flavor of the licorice is derived from the addition of Ammonium chloride (Sal ammoniac) --a substance that naturally occurs near volcanoes, and is often used to clean the tips of soldering irons. Since I've been in Finland, I've tried to embrace salmiakki to varying degrees of success.



The licorice flavored Mentos are actually pretty good, and I've even had licorice gum that I didn't mind. Some of the pastilles are alright too. I just can't eat a lot at one time. In the words of my friend Chris from Malta, "Salmiakki is the perfect candy. You never eat too much at one time because it's not very good." Salmiakki also comes in various alcoholic incarnations, from a 20% liquor to a 40% vodka mix. While I was grocery shopping with my friend Barbara today we discovered yet another salmiakki product, ice cream.






It was awful.

This picture was taken after my first bite. I don't think I'll be able to eat ice cream again for a while. The inside wasn't bad, but the salmiakki coating was disgusting. Salty licorice is one thing, but salty licorice ice cream is just disgusting. I ate about half of my ice cream bar before I had to throw it away.


Barbara didn't like her ice cream either, but she was a champ and finished it. She also told me that they have licorice ice cream in Italy too, but it's much better, and less salty.

I'll have to find out this summer!