My friend Mari shared a bar of this chocolate with me while we watched Leo frown his way through Shutter Island. I confess that I took more than my fair share. This is a taste that I will crave back in the 'Shire. Lemsip makes me long for England. Salmiakki chocolate will make me pine for Finland.
Licorice is big in Finland and quite different from the shoelaces we chew on in the States. In fact, I just became Salmiakki's 45, 876th friend on Facebook.
To find Salmiakki on Wikipedia in English you have to search for "salty licorice" or rather salty liquorice. I have posted that link above. But read on...salt doesn't really enter into it. The distinctive taste of salmiakki comes from amonium chloride or salmiac. That's right, the soupcon of ammonia in your mouth will make you a fanatic for Finnish licorice.
Salty licorice is not just a Finnish delicacy, but as Wikipedia puts it..."Salty liquorice is popular in the Nordic countries, as well as Northern Germany, the Netherlands and the Baltic states. " Now as a blogger I am allowed to have pet peeves and my pet peeve is this---calling the Nordic countries countries and the Baltic states states is confusing my daughter so I will shout it from the roof tops..those geopolitical units known as the Baltic states are countries! Or, alternatively, the Nordic countries are actually states and that makes New Hampshire what...a province? I know the confusion all stems from the fact that we hail from the United States of America, but don't look for any name changes for the US of A. Just keep your fingers crossed for health care reform.
Hopefully Finnish dubbing made Shutter Island a better movie than it was in English.
ReplyDeleteI was happily surprised to see you refer to the Nordic countries rather than the Scandinavian countries. I have always maintained that there are only three countries in Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. On the other hand, there are five Nordic countries, the three in Scandinavia plus Finland and Iceland. So thanks. And being a Dane myself, I love salty licorice. It is definitely an acquired taste. Most people, I have found, don't like it unless they were "born into it."
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