Salmiakki

Finland’s salty obsession
Presentation · Jes
History

From pharmacy
to candy

Origin

Cough medicine

Pharmacies used ammonium chloride. Sweet liquorice covered the harsh taste.

1930s

Candy

Salty pastilles sold in the Nordics and the Netherlands.

1976

Tyrkisk Peber

Danish hard candy filled with salmiak powder. Burns in the mouth. Now made by Fazer in Finland.

1993–95

Banned

Salmiakki vodka shot pulled from shops. Too popular with teens.

What is it?

What is
salmiakki?

NH₄Cl

The formula of the salt only: ammonium chloride, also called salmiak salt. It is what makes salmiakki salty.

The recipe

Liquorice plus salmiak salt. Usually black and often shaped like a small diamond.

The taste

Salty, a little bitter and dry on the tongue, a bit like very strong black tea.

The name

From Latin sal ammoniacus, the “salt of Ammon”, after a temple of the Egyptian god Amun.

Tasting

Your turn

  1. 1

    Take one piece

  2. 2

    Let it melt. Don’t chew.

    The salt comes slowly.

  3. 3

    Scan and vote

    One question, fully anonymous.

QR code
Tasty, neutral or yuck?
Today

Salmiakki everywhere

Candy, chocolate, ice cream and even a vodka shot: Salmiakki Koskenkorva, sold in Alko at 30%.

Warning
May cause a burning tongue and sudden addiction.
Tyrkisk Peber candies
Photo
Tyrkisk Peberimg/tyrkisk-peber.jpg
Salmiakki ice cream
Photo
Salmiakki ice creamimg/salmiakki-ice-cream.jpg
Salmiakki Koskenkorva bottle
Photo
Salmiakki Koskenkorvaimg/salmiakki-koskenkorva.jpg
Bonus

It gets weirder

Salmiak flavour is not only for candy.

Fazer Salmiakki chocolate bar

Chocolate

Liquorice filling
Cola flavoured salmiakki

Cola

Cola salmiakki
Salmiakki flavoured chicken wings

Chicken wings

Salmiakki marinade
Salmiakki chicken pasta

Pasta

With salmiakki sauce
LD Salmiak snus can

Snus

LD Salmiak
Where

The salmiak belt

  • Finland
  • Belgium
  • Denmark
  • Iceland
  • Netherlands
  • North Germany
  • Norway
  • Sweden

Adults only

Germany once required strong salmiak to carry the label “Adult liquorice, not children’s liquorice”.

Identity

A taste you
have to earn

Hard at first. Then you’re hooked.

All ages

Everywhere

In almost every Finnish candy bag. Kids love it too.

Home

Taste of home

Finns abroad ask family to send it.

◆

In the language

Finnish kids call the diamond shape “a salmiakki”.

2012

Defended

A planned EU limit would have hit salmiakki. Protests won.

The results

Tasty

0

Neutral

0

Yuck

0

Kiitos! Questions?

Waiting for votes.

Sources

Sources

Facts

  • Wikipedia: Salty liquorice
  • Wikipedia: Tyrkisk peber
  • Wikipedia: Salmiakki Koskenkorva
  • Alko.fi: Koskenkorva Salmiakki 30%
  • Culture Trip: Why do Finnish people love salty liquorice so much?
  • Scandification: Salmiakki, Finland’s salty liquorice obsession
  • Portland Suomi Koulu: Shapes in Finnish

Images

  • Tyrkisk Peber: str4nd, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Salmiakki ice cream: Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Koskenkorva Salmiakki: JIP, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Chocolate: scandikitchen.co.uk
  • Cola salmiakki: Namitupa, via cremashop.se
  • Chicken wings: naapurinmaalaiskana.fi
  • Pasta: haganol.fi (Apteekin Salmiakki)
  • Snus: nordicsnus.se
  • Map: maix, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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