Salmiakki
Swedish salmiakki
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| Alternative names | Salmiak, salmiakki |
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| Type | Liquorice |
| Serving temperature | Room Temp |
| Main ingredients | Liquorice, ammonium chloride |
| 1,018 kcal | |
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Salty liquorice, also known as salmiak or salmiakki (in Finland), is a variety of liquorice flavoured with ammonium chloride, common in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and northern Germany. Ammonium chloride gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste (hence the name), which has been described as "tongue-numbing" and "almost-stinging". Salty liquorice is an acquired taste and people not familiar with ammonium chloride might find the taste physically overwhelming and unlikeable. Salty liquorice candies are almost always black or very dark brown and can range from very soft to very hard and may be brittle. The other colours used are white and variants of grey. Salty liquorice is also used as a flavouring in other products, such as ice creams and alcoholic beverages.
The words salmiak and salmiakki are derived from an archaic Latin name for ammonium chloride, sal ammoniacus, meaning "salt of Ammon". "Ammon" in turn refers to the temple of Ammon at Siwa Oasis, where ancient Greeks found ammonium chloride. The word ammonia has the same origin. Ammonium chloride has a history of being used as a cough medicine, as it works as an expectorant. Finnish author Jukka Annala speculates that salty liquorice has its origins at drug stores that manufactured their own cough medicine. Where and when ammonium chloride and liquorice were first combined to produce salty liquorice is unclear, but by the 1930s it was produced in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands as a candy.
Different languages often refer to salty liquorice as either "salmiac liquorice" (such as salmiaklakrits in Swedish, or salmiaklakrids in Danish), or simply "salty liquorice". The Dutch refer to it as "" or even a variety called "Dubbel Zoute Drop" (double salted liquorice). In addition to ammonium chloride, salty liquorice candies are sometimes flavoured with other strong flavours like table salt. A common shape for salty liquorice candies is a black diamond-shaped lozenge.
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