Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2016, Page 52

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N E W A W A R D
B E S T T H A I F O O D 2 0 1 5
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A L S O B E S T 2 0 0 9, 2 0 1 0, 2 0 1 1, 2 0 1 2, 2 0 1 3 a n d 2 0 1 4
m a n y f a m o u s p e o p l e a r e r e g u l a r s h e r e“ “
BanThai
Food
Tasting Adventure:
Licorice & Pepper
Words ISAAC WÜRMANN Photo ART BICNICK
My first taste of this week’s candy
was at the foot of Esjan, eaten as
fuel before a hike up the mountain
that looms just north of Reykjavík.
Hardcore hikers and outdoorsy
types might scoff at me chow-
ing down on a sugary treat before
heading out, but thankfully I am
neither. This was my first time hik-
ing an Icelandic mountain, and I’d
do it with liquorice laces in hand,
goddammit!
I’m not the first person to appreci-
ate the powers of liquorice when it
comes to exercise. In fact, some might
call liquorice the original power food.
Alexander the Great reportedly fed his
troops liquorice root when they were
marching because he believed it had
thirst-quenching qualities. Now before
you start lecturing me about how li-
quorice these days just isn’t the same
as it was two millennia ago—jokes' on
you! Because while everyone else was
doubled over halfway up Esjan, or lap-
ping up water from one of those magic
glacier-fed Icelandic streams, these
Turkish Pepper-filled liquorice laces
staved off my thirst so I could climb
smoothly to the top.
Since then, I’ve found it hard not
to indulge whenever I see these
treats at the checkout of Bónus or
10/11. You’ll find the Fylltar Rei-
mar—literally “filled belts”—next
to the more standard (and more
boring!) black liquorice laces, but
I go for the ones with the Turkish
Pepper filling every time. I was
always that weird kid who loved
liquorice allsorts growing up, so
bizarre flavour combinations are
nothing new to me. But unlike the
tough and chewy allsorts, which
perpetually tasted like they had
been left out on your grandparents’
coffee table for three years too
long, this stuff always tastes fresh
and tender and juicy, almost like a
piece of fruit.
Now, I know there are salty li-
quorice naysayers out there, so
a tube of black liquorice stuffed
with Turkish Pepper (a pepper-
flavoured salty liquorice—see last
week’s candy column for clarifica-
tion) might not sound too appetiz-
ing. I’ll admit, after a few pieces of
this stuff even my tongue starts to
tingle from the ammonium chlo-
ride in the Turkish Pepper. But
there’s something about how the
combination of bitter, sweet, and
salty flavours ping all the different
buds on your tongue that makes
this candy not only tasty, but also
intellectually stimulating. It also
helps that plenty of people can’t
stand the taste of black liquorice,
so it feels like you’re in on a secret
if you’re one of the lucky few who
can’t get enough of it.
For bonus points, liquorice laces
are fun for the whole family. I’ve
heard rumours of using the laces
as straws, or you could braid them
and make friendship bracelets for
your friends. Or you could make a
friend by giving a stranger on the
street a bracelet made of Pipar Fyll-
tar Reimar. Or you could actually
use them as laces! Come to think
of it, next time I hike Esjan I’ll test
this stuff out on my boots first, and
wait until I’m back on level ground
to refuel.
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All The Icelandic Candy!
52The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 8 — 2016
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