Salmiak... aka Salty Liquorice

[Becky]

The talk of salty liquorice last week with @Urmas had me intrigued, so we bought some Salmiak and it arrived this morning.

...Well I did say I would try anything once

I feel like my taste buds have just been on a journey, and I'm really not sure what to make of it. It's a very confusing experience for the uninitiated!

I don't think I like it. However after I've finished eating it my mouth is watering and I'm left puzzling over whether I want more.



Despite everything I would recommend it! It's certainly an experience, that's for sure

 

[muckshifter]

Ammonium Chloride.

The main application of ammonium chloride is as a nitrogen source in fertilizers. Ammonium chloride is used as a flux in preparing metals to be tin coated, galvanized or soldered. Ammonium salts are an irritant to the gastric mucosa and may induce nausea and vomiting.


I'll just have plain Liquorice, thanks.

 

[Urmas]

I don't think I like it. However after I've finished eating it my mouth is watering and I'm left puzzling over whether I want more.

Yup. That's how it is. Thirsty for more.

 

[nivrip]

Liquorice

"Most liquorice is used as a flavouring agent for tobacco, particularly US blend cigarettes, to which liquorice lends a natural sweetness and a distinctive flavour and makes it easier to inhale the smoke by creating bronchodilators, which open up the lungs."

"Glycyrrhizin (the active ingredient) has also demonstrated antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and blood pressure-increasing effects"

"It was once thought to be a partial cure for stomach ulcers."

This should be in the "I Learned Today" thread.

 

[Urmas]

I'll just have plain Liquorice, thanks.

That is a bit... mundane. May I at least suggest Hoffman's Drops with the liquorice, Sir?



(Hoffman's Drops were (mis)used in Lapland until 1950s because alcohol wasn't readily available.)

 

[nivrip]

Or you could try Mist. Morpine et Ipecac, an old cough mixture that is flavoured with liquid liquorice extract ( and really does contain Morphine which acts as a cough suppressant).

Liquorice has been used as a food or in medicine for thousands of years, but recent research from the University of Minnesota suggests a possible new use for liquorice in treating melanoma, a particularly dangerous form of skin cancer. A search has recently led to the discovery of isoangustone A (IAA), a novel flavonoid present in liquorice root, which suppresses proliferation of human melanoma cells.

Wonderful stuff.