Can you recommend a non-sweet lozenge/hard candy?
May 24, 2012 8:19 AM Subscribe
Can you recommend a non-sweet lozenge/hard candy?
I would eat the Fisherman's Friend cough suppressants every day if I could, but the package says not to use for more than two days. That menthol bite and sharp, not sugary, flavor is fantastic.
Altoids are kind of in the right direction of sharpness, but they are too sweet and sugary at the same time. Also they don't last very long.
Where are the sharp, bitter, menthol-y, (maybe even spicy?!) very NOT-sweet, hard candies that I can have on a daily basis...like if different flavors of alcohol bitters came in lozenge form?
I would eat the Fisherman's Friend cough suppressants every day if I could, but the package says not to use for more than two days. That menthol bite and sharp, not sugary, flavor is fantastic.
Altoids are kind of in the right direction of sharpness, but they are too sweet and sugary at the same time. Also they don't last very long.
Where are the sharp, bitter, menthol-y, (maybe even spicy?!) very NOT-sweet, hard candies that I can have on a daily basis...like if different flavors of alcohol bitters came in lozenge form?
They're not menthol but IMO they're similar to fisherman's friends - Coltsfoot Rock. They have a lot of the same ingredients and a similar colour and texture but they're flavoured with coltsfoot not menthol.
posted by missmagenta at 8:31 AM on May 24, 2012
posted by missmagenta at 8:31 AM on May 24, 2012
The candy with the name only a 12-year old boy could love : horehounds!
posted by JoanArkham at 8:44 AM on May 24, 2012
posted by JoanArkham at 8:44 AM on May 24, 2012
Another classic is Thayers Slippery Elm. They can be hard to find, and they do have a little sugar but are not sweet. They taste like a shoe + chalk + pie + a fall day all mixed together.
posted by quarterframer at 8:59 AM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by quarterframer at 8:59 AM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
You might like Dubbel Zoute salt licorice, but you should watch your intake.
posted by scruss at 9:04 AM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 9:04 AM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
I recommend browsing Candy Blog; the author definitely reviews these types of candies regularly.
posted by neushoorn at 9:13 AM on May 24, 2012
posted by neushoorn at 9:13 AM on May 24, 2012
The Vermont Country Store has clove and other flavors of hard candy.
posted by jgirl at 11:23 AM on May 24, 2012
posted by jgirl at 11:23 AM on May 24, 2012
Clove, horehound, and other spice-derived candies are almost always sugared half to death. I've never found one (even in Vermont) in which this was not the case.
posted by hermitosis at 12:59 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by hermitosis at 12:59 PM on May 24, 2012
I bought some of these odd food drops from j-list for my son. They were nice, but very weird, and I see they now have non-meat flavours. I think Japanese sweets are generally pretty spectacularly delicious, not always wildly sweet, may be worth a try?
posted by thylacinthine at 3:14 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by thylacinthine at 3:14 PM on May 24, 2012
I am a great fan of Cachou Lajaunie, which is not anything like an American "licorice" as the page hints (bit better explanation here), an interesting mouth experience I think you'd enjoy.
Apparently you can still buy Sen-Sen.
Are you a fan of floral? Les Anis de Flavigny in orange blossom, violet, and rose are all lovely (though a bit more sugary). (These are my preferred violet. Choward's or Parma Violets are okay in emergencies but too sweet otherwise.)
Even better are floral gums. I grew up on these, was devastated when a factory fire took them off the market, far too excited at the return. I get them at a local nothing-but-candy shop; I don't know how easy they are to find outside of specialty shops, at least outside of the UK. "Flavoured gum sweets," yes, but the flavour is floral, not sugar, and they are hard to chew and take time to dissolve (even when fresh; older ones are pretty hard indeed) instead of being like gummies.
I know the Italian breath-freshening whatnot Admiral Haddock speaks of and second that suggestion, but am drawing a blank on brand names. Sometimes I see them by the cash or with the sweets in Italian food shops. They are in the same family as cachou* and Sen-Sen. Er, I think I know what Haddock is on about? There are also anise hard candies that look like regular hard candies. The things I am thinking of are tiny black pellets, sold as breath fresheners.
Finally, if you can abide by gum? Thrills. It has sugar, but it's not very sweet. It is well known for its distinctive rosewater flavor. Comparisons of its flavor to soap are so prevalent that recent packaging states "it still tastes like soap!" If you don't have a Canadian friend you can order it on-line.
+1 Läkerol!
* Not exclusive to Lajaunie; see cachou definition
posted by kmennie at 7:52 PM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
Apparently you can still buy Sen-Sen.
Are you a fan of floral? Les Anis de Flavigny in orange blossom, violet, and rose are all lovely (though a bit more sugary). (These are my preferred violet. Choward's or Parma Violets are okay in emergencies but too sweet otherwise.)
Even better are floral gums. I grew up on these, was devastated when a factory fire took them off the market, far too excited at the return. I get them at a local nothing-but-candy shop; I don't know how easy they are to find outside of specialty shops, at least outside of the UK. "Flavoured gum sweets," yes, but the flavour is floral, not sugar, and they are hard to chew and take time to dissolve (even when fresh; older ones are pretty hard indeed) instead of being like gummies.
I know the Italian breath-freshening whatnot Admiral Haddock speaks of and second that suggestion, but am drawing a blank on brand names. Sometimes I see them by the cash or with the sweets in Italian food shops. They are in the same family as cachou* and Sen-Sen. Er, I think I know what Haddock is on about? There are also anise hard candies that look like regular hard candies. The things I am thinking of are tiny black pellets, sold as breath fresheners.
Finally, if you can abide by gum? Thrills. It has sugar, but it's not very sweet. It is well known for its distinctive rosewater flavor. Comparisons of its flavor to soap are so prevalent that recent packaging states "it still tastes like soap!" If you don't have a Canadian friend you can order it on-line.
+1 Läkerol!
* Not exclusive to Lajaunie; see cachou definition
posted by kmennie at 7:52 PM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
Thrills gum has the tagline "Still Tastes Like Soap!" It's basically a stunt product, and best avoided by all but the most skilled emetophiles.
You might also like Tokuno Salt Milk 8.2 candy, which, while based on hard condensed milk, is salty. They also do a black sesame version which is slightly smoky and gritty. I love all things black sesame.
posted by scruss at 8:33 AM on May 25, 2012
You might also like Tokuno Salt Milk 8.2 candy, which, while based on hard condensed milk, is salty. They also do a black sesame version which is slightly smoky and gritty. I love all things black sesame.
posted by scruss at 8:33 AM on May 25, 2012
I think you might enjoy aniseed balls. They are made from sugar (generally layered around a seed), but the aniseed flavour is very strong. Anise does have laxative properties, but as it is a flavouring you'd have to eat a ton before encountering any, ahem, trouble.
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 8:37 AM on May 25, 2012
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 8:37 AM on May 25, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:23 AM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]