• HopelessIntern (unregistered) in reply to DES
    DES:
    HopelessIntern:
    Salmiak, in essence, is ammonium chloride and a diahhretic.

    There is no such thing as a “diahhretic”. There are diuretics, which increase urine production, and laxatives, which induce bowel movement (but not diarrhea, which is a medical condition characterized by uncontrolled bowel movements and severe dehydration).

    As for the composition of salmiakki, it's simply liquorice with salt and ammonium chloride. The laxative effect comes from the liquorice, not from the ammonium chloride or any other additive.

    Finally, Koskenkorva is just a Finnish brand of vodka. They make a drink based on vodka and salmiakki, but saying that vodka with salmiakki is called Koskenkorva is like saying white rum with lime is called Bacardi.

    Thanks for clearing that up. I only had Koskenkorva once at a Finn's house when I was drunk. I tend to make turk myself.

    As for the vocabulary, English is not my native language so I apologise, the word I was looking for was "laxative", though I do believe ammonium chloride does have a laxative effect.

    Someone higher up ^ said he thought it tasted like Windex, and you would be more correct than you probably thought. The active ingredient in Windex is ammonia, which gives it the strong smell. Salmiak, as stated, is ammonium chloride; there you go.

  • (cs) in reply to HopelessIntern
    HopelessIntern:
    As for the vocabulary, English is not my native language so I apologise

    My native language is the same as yours.

    HopelessIntern:
    Someone higher up ^ said he thought it tasted like Windex, and you would be more correct than you probably thought.

    TRWTF is how that person knows what Windex tastes like...

  • Volker A. Brandt (unregistered) in reply to JamesQMurphy

    Too bad they couldn't send you the Salmiakki ice cream they have in Finland.

  • Doug (unregistered) in reply to JamesQMurphy

    I guess that rules out all non-pitted stonefruit... oh, and steaks!

  • nerfer (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous

    KinderEggs can be found discreetly in some import stores, but officially they are banned and there's been TV news reports to that effect (after which the local Polish deli pulled it off their shelf for a year). Until we found that source, we would bring them back by the dozen whenever we visited Europe.

    Interestingly, I had a friend (smart engineer) who was eating a fruit roll-up and complained that it was hard to chew, like plastic. We asked him if he was separating the roll-up from the plastic sheet it was wrapped in. Turned out he was eating it from the end like a taco. That's what they should ban, not an egg with a clearly distinct toy inside.

    How did they ever get away with the prizes in Cracker Jack or cereal boxes?

  • Fyodor Soikin (unregistered) in reply to HopelessIntern

    Funny how you refer to Salmiak as "the stuff". It sure seems to have some special meaning to you, duuuuuude. :-)

  • pawz (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous

    So, let me get this straight...

    Guns are ok, but toys in chocolate are banned.

    Are you sure you didn't somehow just confuse the two by accident when you were legislating ?

  • AnonymoysWriter (unregistered) in reply to pawz
    pawz:
    So, let me get this straight...

    Guns are ok, but toys in chocolate are banned.

    Are you sure you didn't somehow just confuse the two by accident when you were legislating ?

    Guns are for freedom but toys in chocolate are dangerous.

  • Chris (unregistered) in reply to JamesQMurphy

    I'm eating as much Styrofoam as I can before the new laws come out.

  • Umlimo (unregistered) in reply to JamesQMurphy

    OK, so that stops you ravening Yanks from eating the packaging... what stops you from eating the silica gel?

  • Don't like it either (unregistered) in reply to ikkeDankser
    ikkeDankser:
    To me, it tastes like Windex, a window cleaner that is popular in the U.S.A.
    Actually I think salmiak is also added to some detergents. [image]
  • (cs) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    Funny how the entire rest of the world manage to cope with the non-edible portion of the product without requiring federal legislation to protect them. What I don't understand is this - if you guys can't handle "non-edible" elements to your food, how the hell do you stop yourselves from eating the packaging?

    You mean, we're not supposed to eat the packaging?

  • Satu (unregistered)

    Hi, Alex

    Do you need more salmiak yet? If so, I am sure there are many people that would happily contribute.

    I love your blog, it is very entertaining. I thank you for this source of amusement! I bet this blog has put the sales figures up here in Finland. One cannot read and not buy some of the delicacy right away.

    I am looking forward to your new posts!

  • Enon (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous

    Well, considering it was our government that mandated that BS regulation, it's not a representation of the rest of our country. There are actually some of us in this ocuntry that are a)open-minded b)not complete idiots c)do not hate other countries d)and try not to make broad generalizations. Having worked on cruise ships with several different countries, the one common thing that I find from every country is their ability to poke fun at another country(the U.S. certainly included). I even spent two years in England and while the majprity of the people that were there were quite nice, I occasionally ran into the thick-headed, shit-talking, wankers that referred to every American as either a yank or septic.

    Now that point is made...every country has food that appears odd to another country that did not have it growing up. Hell, just look at some of the Asian stuff that's out there. Overall, I have tried Salmiak and think it's pretty unique. I didn't hate it, and it would probably take a few more times of eating it to get used to the taste.

  • claraetrix (unregistered) in reply to [FIN]VX

    Well, it's eateable if you mix it w/ sugar and cream. But we don't send it abroad, specifically not to US, 'cause they would probably try to invade Finland after suspictions of WMD.<<

    The Kurds gassed by Hussein had more than just suspicions, Skippy. Or didn't the indiscriminate wiping out of entire villages give you pause on the subject? And if you were allowed twelve years to hide your WMDs before the invasion began, as did the UN in buying time for Iraq, maybe even you Finns could figure out a place to ditch the stuff.

  • Brad (unregistered)

    Just came across this. I love salmiak and it's not available anywhere in the Denver metro area. That spread you have before you is like a gold mine to me.

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