Hej – and welcome to your weekly ScandiKitchen lesson.
Liquorice: Black gold, the food of the gods and a tool often used to make fun of unsuspecting non-liquorice lovers. This week, we talk all things salty, delicious liquorice.
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How to say it
Lakrids, lakrits, Lakris, Lakritsi: similar in most Nordic languages. You may also hear it talked about as Salmiakki: the Finnish name for the salty stuff.
History lesson
Liquorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) was popular for fighting colds and treating digestive issues. It’s sweeter than sugar – so balancing it out with something salty makes sense (to us).
Is it like normal salt?
Nope, it’s Ammonium Chloride (NH₄Cl), a white crystalline salt. The Finns call is Salmiakki, which sounds entirely more palatable (and marketable) than Ammonium Chloride.
Dirty feet
In Danish, to be on the liquorices (være på lakridserne) means to be full of energy and drive. They might also describe black dirt between the toes as liquorice between the toes (lakrids mellem tæerne).
But why?
Mid-1920s, Finnish pharmacies added ammonium chloride to liquorice cough syrup as an expectorant. Legend says Finns loved it and started to drink it for pleasure. Sounds plausible.
Why do we love it?
Some believe is because we naturally love salty foods. Many non-Nordic people have strong aversion to this sweet/salt taste. We love it so much we add it to everything from chocolate to ice cream to vodka.
How to love it
An acquired taste. Liquorice is naturally very sweet and salmiakki very salt – there’s a wonderful moment where your tastebuds start to appreciate both of these at the same time. It takes a little time, though. Keep trying.
Fun face time
Nordic people love asking others to try salmiakki. We can never not find this funny and cannot appreciate why someone might not like it. Also, you look really funny when the salmiakki hits. Sorry.
