So….. what the hell am I talking about?

I’m talking about zout, kids, or as most of you call it, “salt”.  Specifically, as it applies to licorice.

We’ve gone on and on here, singing the praises of the holy combination of licorice and salt-and we stand by that.  But recently, it’s become clear to me that there is in fact a limit as to how much salt licorice should have-at least, according to me.

Recently I picked up two bags of double salt licorice, and did a comparison.  Guess what?  They’re too salty.

Each variety is slightly different, although I found Gustaf’s to be just a little saltier than Venco.  Regardless, I was kinda bummed when I tried both of them, because I thought I was “licorice man”: impervious to not liking any and all varieties of licorice.  To be clear, I’m talking about actual licorice, not “pineapple flavored Australian style licorice” which…well…you know.

The flavors of licorice that both of these brands bring are solid.  I’d give a slight edge to Gustaf’s, as I generally really like their varieties and find them to have just a bit more character than Venco.  But the headline here is that I made a realization.  For me, salt is a tool that good licorice uses.  I mean, I love salt.  I think it’s a great flavor enhancer with almost anything, but for licorice…it’s really special.  Having said that, I think that there’s a threshold.  Once you go over a certain amount of salt, the reverse happens: the licorice flavor ends up serving as a relief or a background for the salt.  You’d think for a salt addict like me, this would be bliss, but it aint.

It’s too much.  I’m not freaking out puckering my mouth, and it’s definitely not like I’m not eating these (a couple pieces a day is a fine amount), but…I think for me, the classic “double zout” variety is just too hardcore.

I prefer something like this or this-or this. But that’s just me, because there’s a cross section of licorice lovers out there that DO love double salt-and for y’all, there’s actually a vast array of choices out there.

Today though, I’m going to recommend the Venco.  Something about the smaller piece, and the slightly less intense salt note make them imminently more eatable for me, and probably for you.  Check out this fancy link:

*I’d like to apologize for that last…””pun”. Was it even a pun? It was horrible. Truly, truly horrible. Sorry.