ABOUT
FEEDSCONTACT
EMAIL DIGESTCANDY RATINGSTYPE
BRAND
COUNTRY
ARCHIVES
|
Licorice CandyMonday, November 17, 2014
Simply Gum: Fennel LicoriceI feel like there is a perfect gum out there for me, I just haven’t found it yet. So when I saw Simply Gum at the checkout at Lolli & Pops one afternoon, I bought it on impulse just because of the name of the flavor: Fennel Licorice. Upon further reading I saw that there was more going on here than just the unusual flavor and enticing package. Simply Gum is made with real chicle instead of synthetic gum base along with organic sugar and glycerine. The packaging is spare and thoughtful. Inside the flip top, there’s a little sleeve that holds “post chew wraps”, so even thought the pieces don’t come in little papers, there are papers to responsibly dispose of your gum when you’re through. Though the box is square and the nuggets inside fill the package, after I dumped them out for photographing, I found that there was a spacer bit at the bottom. As if they’d either originally specified more gum in the box but later decided for less but didn’t want to change the package, or it’s just intended to mislead the consumer. The box only says 12 pieces (there were actually 18 in my box but they’re not consistently sized), but never says how big each piece is, the weight I came up with in the stats box is from weighing the pieces. The nuggets are just that, a rope of the brown-sugar hued gum is snipped into pieces. They’re a little smaller than a regular portion of gum, but not by half. When I chewed it, I wanted maybe 1.5 times as much. The pieces don’t stick together, they have a little rice powder on them (kind of like a corn starch). They smell like fennel, just like sticking your nose in a bottle of fennel seed. The chew releases the sweetness quickly, and instead of becoming more firm, like most gums do, this became thinner. It was too thin really. It’s like riding a bike in the wrong gear, my jaw is going too fast for this gum. I’m just spinning and the gum is squishing around. Aside from the texture, I love the flavor. It was earthy and substantial. The licorice flavors weren’t overly sweet or metallic. The mineral notes weren’t rusty. Instead it tasted rather of beets. I felt like it freshened my mouth, yet still went well with coffee or tea. The flavor lasted quite long and though the sugar was gone, fennel and licorice have a natural sweetness that lingers. But the gum base was just too squishy. So, if you’ve been looking for an all natural gum that chews better with a glass of iced tea than hot tea ... well, this is your gum. I might try another flavor, like Maple, just in case the particular batch I got was anomalous. However, it’s pretty expensive, at $3.50 a box. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:57 am All Natural • Candy • Review • Gum • Licorice Candy • Organic • 6-Tempting • United States • Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Katjes Tappsy mit Schoko-GeschmackTappsy is a line of cute candies from the Germany sugar-candy company Katjes. Katjes is know best for their licorice, but also do a great job with jelly and gummi candies, often mixed with a marshmallow texture. The Tappsy line features a simple Panda face with contrasting ears and often nose. Sometimes they’re done in fruity flavors and sometimes in licorice. This particular version. the Katjes Tappsy mit Schoko-Geschmack are chocolate flavored. They’re not available in the United States, or at least not easily. I got these from a candy swap with Kristian at CandyBrain.de, but I did notice that Sugarfina (more on them here) posted about them after our small quake last week. They smell like cocoa, like I just opened a can of Nestle Quik. The shapes alternate. Some faces are cocoa with licorice ears and noses, some are licorice faces with cocoa ears. The marshmallow faces are very easy to bite and chew. It’s soft and mild but ultimately bland. The cocoa keeps it from getting too sweet, but also gives it a sort of cardboard flavor as well. The licorice as ears is so mild, all I could tell was that it wasn’t cocoa. When it came to the licorice faces, the chew was a little more like a Swedish Fish than the dense cross between a marshmallow and a gummi. The flavor is more intense but not great. There are anise notes and a little deep earthy flavor of molasses and licorice. The ears are good here, just a little light texture and the flavor is completely overpowered. I found them passable, not great. They weren’t strong enough in their licorice flavor and for the cocoa part, I think I would have preferred a true licorice flavor there too, like Griotten. I’ll probably finish the package, and I’ve come to find I rather like them when they’re stale and a little more stiff and chewy. (If you’d like a review via video and stronger language, check out CandyGurus review of the chocolate and licorice varieties.) Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:31 pm Candy • Review • Katjes • Gummi Candy • Licorice Candy • 6-Tempting • Germany • Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Pine Bros Softish Throat Drops - LicoricePine Bros Softish Throat Drops were introduced in 1870. The simple formula uses glycerine to soothe irritated throats. By 1930 the company was sold to Life Savers, which was a natural fit, as they had wide distribution and the throat drops were a nice complement to the candy roll line. By the late 1990 the brand was sold several times, lost national distribution and fell into obscurity before disappearing entirely. Of course consumers didn’t forget about them, and soon there was enough of a groundswell on the internet to get the drops back on the market. In 2011 they finally returned with the most fashionable flavors: Wild Cherry and Honey. The return of Pine Bros Softish Throat Drops really couldn’t be considered complete until the Licorice flavor was also revived. I find them reliably at CVS drug store chains, though others may carry them as well. It’s nice to see them in national distribution and there was even a commercial on at the top of the Golden Globe Awards to build brand awareness. The Licorice drops are the same shape and size as the Cherry and Honey. They’re about 3/4 of an inch long and at first seem hard. In the mouth they soften quickly. They’re not chewy, but dissolve smoothly to form a coating, soothing syrup in the throat. The licorice flavor is clean, with a clear anise or fennel note. There’s no molasses in here, so it doesn’t have all that earthy, minerally flavor that a licorice vine might feature. Instead this is just sweet, light and soothing. They’re much softer when they’re fresh, I opened my bag and let them get a little harder, as I will absolutely try to chew them if they’re soft and should know better than that. The only issue I have with them is that they use artificial colors ... I’m not sure why, I don’t need them to be black. I don’t notice the flavor influenced by it at all, but why am I paying for that? There is no nutrition panel on the package, this is not food, there is instead the Drug Facts panel which has the directions for use (allow to dissolve in the mouth). They’re made on shared equipment with peanuts and tree nuts but contain no soy, dairy or wheat products. I could eat these all day. I have been eating them all day. I’m glad they’re back. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:53 am Candy • Review • Pine Bros • Jelly Candy • Licorice Candy • 8-Tasty • United States • Sav-On/CVS • Monday, January 13, 2014
Marabou Black Saltlakritz Milk ChocolateI knew from the first time I heard about this bar from Sweden that it was not for licorice haters. It’s called Marabou Black Saltakrits. It’s described (in English!) on the front as Milk chocolate with pieces of salty licorice. When Swedes say salty licorice, they don’t mean sodium chloride, like the regular sea salt or table salt. They mean ammonium chloride which has a distinctly more metallic flavor profile and can give the licorice an ammonia note at times. It’s marked as a king sized bar, and in Sweden that means 7.76 ounces ... they’re a unitary parliamentary representative democracy under constitutional monarchy, so they have a slightly more generous meaning for king-sized candy bars than we do here in our federal presidential representative democracy under constitutional republic. This very big bar is about 8 inches long and 3 inches wide. As it traveled quite a distance to me (from its origin in Sweden to Kristian in Germany who packaged it up and sent it to the far side of North America) it was broken in several places, so photographing the whole was not very attractive. Marabou is owned by Mondelez (Kraft) and this particular bar uses Rainforest Alliance certified cacao (30%). It doesn’t say anything else about the sourcing of the milk products or sugar. The bar contains soy and milk and may also have traces of almonds, other nuts and wheat. The bar smells great, like sweet creme brulee and a hint of anise. The licorice was not at all what I was expecting. The bits are little little toffee shards, they’re crunchy, not chewy. There’s no molasses, so it’s a much more pungent licorice flavor than a mixed sort of Australian or American chewy flour-based licorice. If you’re familiar with cinder toffee or sponge candy, which has a note of sodium bicarbonate in it, you might find this familiar, too. The licorice has a sharp note that’s rather salty but sometimes taste more acidic. It’s sharp and sweet but overall pleasant in small bits, but large pieces are off-putting. The creamy and ordinary chocolate is great as a background, it balances it all out, though offers nothing in the way of actual cocoa flavors. It’s quite milky, which is also fine. A few bites, and I like it. But more than a square and I definitely start getting an overabundance of the ammonia going and have to give it a rest. This is something I absolutely do not need a king sized bar of, I simple little one or two ounces would have sufficed. Still, it’s one of the best salted licorices I’ve had - I liked the crispy texture and quick dissolve. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:21 pm Candy • Review • Kraft/Mondelez • Marabou • Chocolate • Ethically Sourced • Licorice Candy • 6-Tempting • Sweden • Thursday, July 18, 2013
Lucky Country Aussie-Style Black LicoriceLucky Country is an American licorice company that makes Australian-style licorice. What is Australian style? It’s distinguished by large pieces, a soft texture and a molasses & wheat flour base. Lucky Country is not as easy to find in stores as Twizzlers or Red Vines, but for folks who like a really rich tasting licorice but don’t want to spring for the European or Australian candies, it’s a good option. Lucky Country sent me some bags of their black licorice and some of their fruity varieties. I’d tried their black before (the photo of the package shown is from 2008, but the pieces below are the more recent shipment). The nuggets are big. They’re about 1.5” long and about .6 inches in diameter. It only takes five pieces to make a portion, which comes out to about 130 calories. Even though it’s not fat free, it’s very low in calories overall, only 92 calories per ounce, because it’s a wheat-based chew and the primary sweetener is molasses. The molasses also adds a bit of nutrition. There 6% of your daily RDA of calcium and 8% of your RDA of iron. I was disappointed to see artificial colors in the ingredients. It’s pretty easy to find all natural licorice out there, so there’s little reason to compromise on this if you don’t like Red 40, Yellow 6 or Blue 1 going into your candy or body. The pieces are a little sticky but overall quite chewy and soft. The flavor is well rounded with a good licorice and anise flavor along with a smoky and earthy flavor of molasses. They’re not as sweet as Panda licorice, and I enjoy the twisted segments as a shape versus the long, smooth bar of Panda. It’s good stuff, and since it’s made in the US, it’s pretty affordable stuff. Personally I prefer the format of pastilles (like Good & Plenty) so if they ever go in that direction, I’d be interested to try them. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:28 pm Candy • Review • Kosher • Licorice Candy • 7-Worth It • United States • Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Haribo Hot SticksI saw these Haribo Hot Sticks first on the Candy Gurus site and knew I had to have them. They’re a strange combination of flavors, at least to the American palate. The package describes them as Fruity-Spicy & Liquorice. They’re sugar crusted gummis in three flavor combinations: Hot Orange + Liquorice, Ginger-Lemon + Liquorice and Raspberry-Jalapeno + Liquorice. Haribo is a global confectionery brand, but this package is for the German market, with the majority of the package information in German and a smattering in English. There are three flavors, but I have trouble telling them apart. The raspberry was easy, since it was pink, but the orange and lemon versions were more difficult. The texture is soft and bouncy, the sugar crust is fine and adheres well to the candy, so well that there was barely any in the bottom of the bag. Each has a licorice end, and that flavor was consistent across all the pieces. It was very sweet with a mild anise flavor. I’m not usually the keen on Haribo’s licorice, but this gummi version was mild and traditional. Hot Orange + Liquorice - the orange end had a little tangy citrus note and at first, I had trouble detecting anything else, but soon the warming spice of what I can only guess is hot pepper started. It was really just the heat, there wasn’t much of the vegetable note to it. The licorice combined well with it, mostly evening it all out and providing a more lingering sweetness. Ginger-Lemon + Liquorice - this was the flavor that drove me to find the Hot Sticks. I love Haribo’s Ginger Lemon gummis, so the addition of licorice sounded great. The earthy flavor of the ginger balanced very well with the herbal notes of the anise-licorice. The tartness of the lemon cut the sugary sweetness of the grainy coating. Raspberry-Jalapeno + Liquorice - I have to admit that jalapeno is not one of my favorite flavors. The raspberry and jalapeno flavors were well balanced here. The tangy and floral berry notes came right out, but so did the green vegetable flavors of jalapeno along with the very warm notes of the pepper. When I just ate a bite from that flavored end, I found it slightly too hot for me. However, when eating as a whole candy, with the soothing woodsy note of the licorice, it’s interesting ... still, it was a bit chaotic. Of all the flavors here, this one was the least successful. But it could just be that I’d never tried that combination before and it was too jarring for me to appreciate. Overall, it’s a really fascinating mix. Each bite is different, and because the flavors are separated on different ends, you can kind of control how much of a mix you get. I’ll probably stick with the much more mundane Lemon Ginger, but the addition of licorice, especially this particular version of a gummi licorice, is quite good. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:26 pm All Natural • Candy • Review • Haribo • Ginger • Gummi Candy • Licorice Candy • 7-Worth It • Germany • Mel and Rose • Monday, February 4, 2013
Eat with your Eyes: Myzel’s Licorice AssortmentA little sampling of Licorice from Myzel’s in New York City that I picked up. Most are items I’ve had before, so it was nice to have the comfort of something tried and true. The one on the right end is the only one I’d never had before, it’s thyme and rosemary from Italy. It’s a soft, glycerine style licorice. Not very sweet at all with the balsam notes of the herbs. POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:15 pm Candy • Licorice Candy • Highlight • Photography • Thursday, January 24, 2013
Sockerbit Swedish Candy SelectionsWhile in New York City I picked up a huge selection of candy from Sockerbit, a Swedish candy shop. Nearly all of their products are found in their bulk bins, for the standard price of $13 a pound. The candies, most from Sweden, are made without artificial colors. You can buy from Sockerbit’s website but their best selection is in their store. The candies are fresh and well marked in their bins. I made three different bags for myself. One was wrapped candies (not pictured), an array of fudge & chocolate items and the third mix was for marshmallow and fruity candies. I purchased about a pound total and as you can see from this posting, sampled a huge variety of candy styles and flavors.
Romrussin Fudge - say it out loud and it’s obvious that this is rum raisin fudge. Even though the pieces seem a bit dry and hard, they’re not at all once I bit into one. The rum note is light, like a butterscotch sort of flavor. The raisins are tangy and sweet and pretty chewy. Fudge Duo is a stack of vanilla fudge and chocolate fudge. It’s a bit drier than the romrussin. The chocolate is mild, the vanilla is quite sweet and has a light toffee note. The texture is smooth, without the heavy buttered grain of some styles of fudge (which I rather like). This was a bit sweet for me and I think I would have to either limit myself to one piece or eat it with something like dark chocolate, nuts or strong coffee. Licorice Fudge is quite black and rather formidable. The flavor profile is well done. It’s not as sweet as the other fudges and according to the ingredients list I found online, it has 2.3% licorice powder in it. Like the other candies sold at Sockerbit, there are no artificial colorings, in this case the licorice is made black by the use of carbon black (E153 - which may have animal origins, my vegetarian friends). It’s unusual to find this licorice product here, because E153 is not approved in the US. Overall, the fudge was dry. I’m not a huge fudge person in the first place, but the thing I like best about it is the buttery, grainy texture of fresh fudge. Polly are little nougat nuggets covered in milk or dark chocolate. A little larger than a Milk Dud, they’re quite a tasty morsel, something I would want to buy again. They’re a little egg-noggy, maybe a rum flavoring to them. They’re chewy, like a stiff nougat but there’s no sugary grain to them (kind of like a tacky marshmallow). The dark chocolate version has a decent semi-sweet coating on it, it’s not that rich but passable for something that’s more of a family candy. The milk chocolate is actually a bit better, with strong dairy tastes and possibly this is the only one that has the rum notes to it. Nougat with Almonds - it’s a bit dry, though not at all sticky. They’re airy pieces, kind of a cross between marshmallow and the Italian torrone. There’s no essence to it, no amaretto or orange notes. It’s a clean flavor and easy to eat. I wouldn’t mind them coated in chocolate as well. The nougat works better as a “dry” candy compared to the fudge and I’d be happy to eat more if I found it. The final item, and one of the other amazing finds is Punsch Punsch. They’re similar to the Polly, in that they’re little rummy nuggets covered in chocolate. The center is a fudge-like sweet paste with a light rum and possibly raisin flavor. It’s covered in semi-sweet chocolate and some cute little nonpareils for garnish. I didn’t like them quite as much as the Polly, they’re not quite as poppable. They’re a bit sweeter and the rum more pronounced ... maybe it needed a bit more of a creamy butter component for me. Starting small, there are a few jelly berries in there called Skogsbär. There were three different colors, each a little different. The Swedish berry flavor is mild but smooth. The classic raspberries were jammy but still not very intense. When I first bought them they were smooth but after sitting in the paper bag they got a little harder and grainier. Marshmallow Selection I always enjoy banana marshmallows. The frothy texture of marshmallow goes well with banana flavoring. In the case of the banana marshmallows from Sweden, don’t get these confused with the American Marbits known as Circus Peanuts. The texture is far smoother and the flavor, though probably artificial is not caustic. There’s even a little tartness to it. The second banana is called Banana Bubs, they’re half yellow banana flavor and the other half a mild caramel flavor. They’re foamy and soft, chewy and less tart than the bananas. The large pink disk says Franssons on it. It’s strawberry flavored, soft and has a great berry flavor to it. The smooth dissolve of the marshmallow gives it a creamy texture without any actual fat. It’s a few bites, so it ends up being a lot of candy in one piece. Refreshing. Skumsvampar are the little hat shapes came in two different flavors. The pink ones are the lingonberry flavor, they’re more sweet without that round tart note that the disk had. The tan ones are cola, they’re very mild but have a good caramel and light spice note to them. Elephant Feet Licorice is the only licorice I picked up while I was there, though they had quite a bit. These are a pleasant variety. The base is foamy and has a light caramel flavor to it. The black licorice layer is a gummi with a mild anise note to it. They’re easy to eat with an almost creamy flavor to it, like the crema on an espresso. Ferrari - Berry and Cola - they’re just race cars in different flavors. I picked out the berry and cola ones, which came in separate bins. The Red Car is Swedish berry flavor, whatever the Swedish Fish flavor is, probably something like the lingonberry version of Jolly Rancher green apple. But it wasn’t exactly a flavor retread, it was different. It was much strong, much more floral, the the point where I noticed an overwhelming note of violet in my candy bag only to find it was this single red car that was causing it. It’s a good flavor, but very ultimately very different from the masculine berry I was expecting. Cola Car is spicy and bold, with a sharp tartness to it. These got stale more quickly than some of the other pieces I picked out. The Malaco Gummi Cola Bottles were tangy and sharp, but not quite as spicy or as vibrant as I would have liked. However, the texture was quite nice, a little tougher and less sticky than Swedish Fish. I would eat these ... I might even prefer them over Haribo Gummi Cola Bottles. Euca Menthol Gummidrops might be Dutch. They’re domed and big and covered with granulated sugar. They’re very firm and a bit tough if you like to eat your gummis in several bites. The flavor is not straight menthol or mint. It’s more like a berry flavor, maybe lingonberry with a menthol kick to it. There’s a light tartness to it as well. They’re odd. I was expecting them to be a straight sort of gummi mint cough drop (smaller gummi eucalyptus drops are popular in South America), but they’re simply different from that. I can’t decide if I like them. They’re soothing and invigorating ... but I wouldn’t call them tasty. It’s like mixing Sleepytime tea with Red Zinger. Some other items not shown in the photos: Dumle are individually wrapped chocolate covered toffee pieces. The toffee style is really a caramel. It’s quite soft, but not oozy like Cadbury’s. It has a light, cereal flavor that reminds me of graham crackers, maybe even with a hint of coconut and cinnamon. I also tried the purple wrapped liquorice variety. Instead of being a goofy over-colored black inside, it looked just the like other toffee version. The licorice flavor is mild and earthy. Hem-kola are little squares of firm hazelnut caramel. They’re kind of like a rich Now & Later. The hazelnut is more of a flavor, there’s no crushed nuts in there. It’s sweet and becomes a little grainy towards the end. They reminded me a lot of the caramel style of Sugar Babies. Rollo are like Sugar Daddy, a tough caramel. It’s creamy and has a strong dairy flavor, more than a hint of salt and a smooth texture. Tom’s Guld Karamel are good, like a Storck Chocolate Riesen. The caramel (toffee) center is smooth, salty but not chocolate flavored on its own. The chocolate coating though is rather dark and bitter. Sockerbit (website) Whenever I’m in New York, I will definitely make this a stop. I know that the inventory changes as well, so not all of these candies may be available right now. (Here’s a review of my recent New York City candy shopping spree.) I give the Polly an 8 out of 10, the Banana marshmallows, Cola candies and Elephant Feet a 7 out of 10 and everything else a 6 out of 10. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:52 pm All Natural • Candy • New York City • Review • Caramel • Chocolate • Cola • Licorice Candy • Marshmallow • 6-Tempting • 7-Worth It • 8-Tasty • Netherlands • Sweden • |
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
|