On the Swedish Lakrits (Licorice) Obsession

Being a minimally observant human comes with some consequences. A number of basic questions come into one’s mind, sometimes unexpectedly. For instance, “What is the meaning of life?” “What, if anything, created our infinite universe?” “Why do Swedes love licorice so much?” We probably need to table answers to the first two questions for other posts, though, as the Swedish licorice one takes obvious priority.

Licorice is all over Swedish grocery stores. If you throw a rock in any random one of them, you’ll probably hit something with licorice in it (however, be warned that public rock throwing is generally frowned upon by the Swedes). And, please keep in mind that we’re talking about real licorice here, not the ropey red stuff that tastes of chemical strawberries that is more common in US movie theaters. We’re focusing on the black chewy licorice that tends to polarize Americans: you either love it or hate it. Some have also found it “an acquired taste” like stinky cheese or IPA beer.

Close up of Salta Häxor

Even stranger for the American palate, a good bit of Swedish licorice is salty. The salt content can be very mild – essentially a flavor enhancer – but in other candies it can be fairly dominant. There’s one brand, salta häxor (i.e., salty witches), that was probably the most intensely salted licorice ever tasted by man or beast. They look like any other black licorice bits, but the soft purple-black candies were coated in what can only be described as finely powdered salt. When you pop one in your mouth you get a nuclear detonation of salt that is soon followed by the soft sweetness of a very well-executed black licorice. To be honest, at first taste they were a bit off-putting but then became addictive. It was sort of like the experience of tasting a way-too-hot hot sauce and then deciding that you needed to keep putting it on every part of your meal. The description of salta häxor “salt for the wicked” seemed very appropriate…

A bag of "Salt for the Wicked"

Interestingly, the salt is a bit different from normal table salt. It’s called ammonium chloride and is, in general, more potent. Ammonium chloride was apparently even mixed with licorice root in earlier times as a medicine for coughs. As a warning, though, too much ammonium chloride can be a bad thing. If can cause high blood pressure and may even have a decalcifying effect on bones. But, in small quantities, it is very popular in Scandinavian treats.
​
But licorice isn’t just limited to candies in Sweden. One of the best things we found there were lakrits dates (i.e., licorice dates). These are normal pitted medjool dates coated with a very fine dusting of licorice powder. Yes, we realize this may sound strange, but you should give them a try. They are even more addictive than regular licorice candies, and probably a lot better for you, too. These things are not just found in Sweden, either. You can buy them in Iceland, too.
 
But back to this all-important question… why do the Swedes love licorice so much. In order to get answers, we found an unlikely source: Scandinavian Vogue magazine. According to their interesting article on the topic, the Swedes and other Scandis had a long tradition of salting food in order to preserve it through those long, cold, and dark winter months that happen when you live so far up north. So, in a sense, the ancestors of current Swedes were no stranger to intensely salted food. Further, the Vogue article states that a Scandinavian staple, pickled herring, also has this strange mixture of salty and sweet. One of us has never tasted pickled herring, and the other finds this description of the preserved fish a bit “off”, so we may need some other opinions to properly sus this out. 

Swedish Lakrits powder

Lakrits dates

Regardless, if you don’t live in Sweden, you can order some lakrits from a number of online sources. You could even make your own lakrits dates. Just get a bunch of fresh, shiny looking medjools and dust them with lakrits powder which you can buy in little jars online. Be careful adding any ammonium chloride, though.