Top-10 Ultimate Brutal True Finn Candy
They’re traditional, ultimately Finnish and - for many - something that people couldn’t ever consider as a candy. If you dare to taste these (and you’ve never even heard about salmiakki), don’t expect anything. It’s probably better that way.
Well, let’s start off with the countdown 3..2..1.. Go!
10. Hopeatoffee (Silver toffee)
Let’s start mildly. This toffee salmiakki flavored toffee is really sweet compared to other salmiakki products. This candy was out of market from 2009 to 2013 but due to huge amount of angry feedback to the manufacturer you can buy them again. From all salmiakki stuff on this list Hopeatoffee is probably easiest to digest.
9.Pohjanmaan pastillit (Ostrobothnia pastilles)
These minty breath mint like pastilles are also known as ”uskovaisten pastilli”, ”religious people’s pastille. These candies are ”floury”, they break easily in your mouth to a mouthful of candy flour and therefore were and are popular among elderly people because eating them doesn’t require much chewing. It’s said that the religious people candy name comes from the fact that many elderly people attending to religious events had these with them.
I guess for many Finnish people these candies are strongly connected to visits to grandparents, ”mummola”, (literally ”grandmother’s [house]”) and that’s why they make it to this list. My grandparents had these and sometimes when I was really hungry for candy I dared to ask them to give me some. These might be tasty for elders but for a kid that craves for sugary sweets eating these was just a huge disappointment. But being a stupid and optimistic little kid I always thought the taste will be better this time. I was wrong.
8. Tervaleijona (Tar lion)
These tiny sugar covered pastilles are - you guessed it: Licorice candy with tar flavor.
7. Tervapirut (Tar devils)
These taste similar to Tervaleijona but without the sugar. This is for those who don’t like to spoil the delicate flavor of tar with anything.
This is legit candy. It’s salmiakki powder with sugar and that’s about it. You can pour it all in your mouth or dip your finger to the powder and lick it. But don’t snort it. It’s not going to get you high but most likely will burn in your nostrils.
This isn’t the only manufacturer of salmiakki powder nor the only package you might find. You can find salmiakki powder also in shorter and wider tubes as well as in palm sized, (usually black) flat cases that resemble snuff cases.
5. Apteekin salmiakki (Pharmacy salmiakki)
This is close to the original salmiakki that was sold in pharmacies as a medicine for cough and to boost stomach functionality. You still can find them in Finnish pharmacies. These are very tiny, flat pieces of salmiakki. The taste of these is the most original taste of salmiakki.
This salmiakki is quite strong one but unlike the previous very traditional salmiakki candies, it has kind of eucalyptus or menthol nuance in its flavor. My personal salmiakki-favourite.
At first, Don’t be fooled: It’s not Gifu. The letters are old letters that resemble G and F but are actually capital S and small s.
Sisu as a term is part of Finnish mentality. It cannot be translated, but it’s something that you keep on going no matter what. You will pull through the hard times even though everything and everyone in the world is against you. You try with sisu. And for a foreigner who tries these candies for the first time it might be first trial if they have any “sisu” in them:
If you don’t like the flavor of Sisu but you have sisu in you, you chew it, swallow it and eat it. No matter how bad it tastes.
This red one is the ”original” but there are plenty of flavor variations such as Salmiakki (obviously), Raikas (Fresh), Kekäle (Firebrand), Kipinä (Spark), Horna (Abyss/Hell), Sysi (Charcoal) as well as Sisu chewing gum (with xylitol!). Even though they all taste different they all have the same, recognizable base taste. The taste of Sisu.
This is something you either like or hate. I don’t really fancy this myself but it still is two the most Finnish things combined: Fazer blue chocolate and salmiakki filling. The salmiakki is really strong and almost liquid.
1. Turkinpippurit / Tyrkisk Peber ( Turkish peppers)
These are hard candy. At first you taste them you taste actually quite sweet licorice flavor. It’s not bad. And then when you chew it you find the second aspect of this candy. It’s filled with strong salmiakki powder.
Turkinpippurit are brutal for real. If you eat them too much (especially if you like to suck on them rather than chew) they will make the skin peel off from your palate.
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