The German kid has been gone for a week but he left us a few things to remember him by: some T-shirts and sweats and a pair of worn-out running shoes, a thick Stephen King novel dog-eared halfway through, and a package of peculiar licorice candies containing Salmiak. I don't know what Salmiak is and I'm struggling for the proper word to describe its flavor: Salty? Fishlike? Medicinal? The first bite made me wonder whether I'd accidentally chomped down on that old running shoe.
I love licorice, but this stuff is odd. Really odd. If you were sitting in a darkened theater watching a movie while dipping into a bag of mixed licorice candies and you unsuspectingly popped one of these things into your mouth, your first thought would not be, "My, what an unusual flavor in a piece of candy!" No, your first thought would be, "How did this cockroach get into my candy?"--that is, provided you had any time to think while spitting and gagging and attempting to claw every vestige of flavor off your tongue.
I've studied this flavor closely and I can understand, sort of, how people might consider it interesting. After all, there are people out there somewhere who consider liver and onions a special treat, who regularly put anchovies on a perfectly good pizza, who would be delighted to receive a can of sardines in their Christmas stockings (you know who you are!). But I've given this candy several opportunities to woo me and it has failed utterly. In fact, I am prepared to declare my mouth a Salmiak-free zone. So all you little Salmiaks out there, whatever and wherever you might be, take note: stay away from my tastebuds! I've had it with you and your ilk. (What ilk might a Salmiak possess? That's just frightening.)
5 comments:
They say smell is the strongest sense tied to memory, but because I'm anosmic, I've got to go with what I've got.
In any case, one evening, just before Josh, Lauren, and I left for Europe, Mark and Andrea Miller had us over to swap photos and stories and general excited twitterings. After coffee, Andrea bade us try some Dutch licorice that her parents had given her for some occasion or another. After all, Lauren was very soon to be spending a semester in Utrecht and had better get herself acquainted.
The three of us all dutifully took a piece and while we chewed valiantly, I instantly longed for the taste of my own tears or my sweat after a long workout. It tasted like a combination of both, if laid in the sun for a few humid Summer days.
The Salmiak you describe, with its gym shoe type flavor sounds remarkably similar and while I'd never wish to sample the hidden 'treasures' again, I can say that that's one flavor with a very specific memory.
The medicinal running shoe couldn't help bring back that odd, unforgettable surprise.
-Lani
Salmiak is ammonium chloride, NH4Cl. It has a salty taste from the chloride ion and, at least when chewed in candy, a whiff of ammonia.
I'd say it was rather similar to MSG, monosodium glutamate, in that it has a basically salty and meaty taste. Then again, I rather like the stuff in liquorice candy.
IKEA stores in the States sometimes carry it. It's a Scandinavian specialty as well.
liquorice candy with Salmiak (ammonium chloride) is popular in The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and parts of Germany ! And this stuff is addicting!
Fisherman Friends makes even a special Salmiak version for the above mentioned countries.
You can find Salmiak also in products like Wodca ....
Hmmmm Salmiak is echt lekker lekker lekker!
I grew up with the stuff and it is addicting! It's best to have just a couple of candies a day - but that is impossible for me and the other 25 million addicts out there.
salmiak is actually very addictive to those who have grown up with it. It gives the tounge a sort of corrosive feeling, sort of like chewing tobacco or the scandinavian Snus, which is like a tobaccoproduct you put under your upper or lower lip. its therefor more than a candy, its a trip ;) if its good real strong salmiak. The more you are into salmiak the stronger you want them. Sedative for the tounge ;)
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