Sorry guys about the horror I did to you during Steemfest. I know how people who aren’t from the Netherlands think about eating liquorice. But hey at least you had the guts to give it a try, there where even some people who liked it. I know @for91days is hooked from now on to the Double Salty taste of drop. The fun part, it is actually not salt what they use in this one, but Salmiak. This little black DZ candy is filled with 8% of that.
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Dutchies and liquorice
I think nowhere anywhere else in the world they eat as many liquorice as we Dutchies do. I believe we eat per person 2kg of liquorice in a year. So that is more than 30 billion kilos of liquorice in only my country! But more and more people who brought a visit to the Netherlands bring back home a package of liquorice. A Dutch tradition is also to bring the liquorice always with you while being on the road. You’re not a Dutchie if you don’t go from home with your own things like coffee, bread, hagelslag and liquorice not to forget! So that is what I did.
Drop origins
It all started with the roots of the liquoriceplant. This plant only grows in warmer countries like Spain and China for example. The roots must be dried before they can do anything with them. After drying they can grind the roots, so they can add water again, so they can strain the result of that. After straining all what is left is called a block of liquorice. This product they ship to the Netherlands where we can use this to create our beloved liquorice.
Liquorice ingredients
In the past they used Arabic gum, this ingredient would take care of the gummy taste. Nowadays they use starch because that is cheaper (hey we’re still Dutch). Of course it is a candy, so it needs some sugar to. On the other hand, there is sugar-free liquorice, with alternative sweeteners. I mentioned the salmiak earlier in my story and a few dyes to give the liquorice it’s beautiful black color. At the end of the process they will add some flavoring agents, so they made you think honey liquorice tastes like honey. All the ingredients will be cooked together in one big pot. The liquorice will get liquid, at this stage it is still a sticky mass. But this will change soon anyhow. But before that step the taste needs to be tested. What a job would you have tasting the whole day liquorice!
When the taste passes the quality control, they will transport the sticky mass to the moulding machine. Here they will mould the liquorice. For two days the liquorice will be baked in the moul at a temperature of 65 degrees Celcius. After cooling down the liquorice will be transported to some sort of a tunnel wich will work like some sort of a washing machine. They do this by adding some oil to the rotation. After this the liquorice will dry for two days. At this stage the liquorice will be rigid enough to be carefully packed and transported to the supermarket.
You might think that liquorice is only bad for your health because it is a candy. But that is not the whole story. Actually, it is quite ok for your health. It is helping a lot when your throat hurts or if you can’t stop coughing. And it evens has some anti-inflammatory and other medicinal properties. But as always, don’t eat to much from it. Excessive consumption is known to be toxicfor your liver and blood pressure.
Watch the video how Steemians react while tasting some liquorice for the first time. Would you love it or hate it?
The following Steemians weren't harmed during this test: @for91days, @nigina, @daniel.errey, @afrosiab, @firepower, @wandereronwheels, @daveonarrival, @joeparys, @mrprofessor, @goodwithtravels, @gexi, @llfarms
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