Danish Candy

In the airport I bought my first bag of Haribo candy, this one called Famille Guf, which I think means family marshmallows. mmmm…. Haribo… I was once told that Danes eat the most candy per capita… Most of my life I had been convinced that Denmark was famous for three things: Hans Christen Anderson, Legos, and Haribo. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I learned that Haribo was actually German… I was sad. But there are these wonderful Haribo variations that definitely can’t buy in the states, and might not be able to buy in Germany… the perfect mixture of licorice, gummy, marshmellowy goodness. Addiction to candy and sugar is a strange thing. For most of my life I have literally been addicted to this candy. Whenever my mother would come back from Denmark, Zaki and I would consume the entire massive 3 pound box as soon as we’d get it. We would inevitably eat until we were sick… shoving more candy in the mouth before we’ve finished swallowing.

Oh, then there’s the other kind of Danish candy, a company called Bon Bon. They make mainly hard candies with a strong licorice filling. All the varieties have very immature names like Dog Farts, Seagull Droppings, Buggers, Sewage, and The Garbage Dump. Affinity towards something like licorice is interesting. Very strong salty licorice is one of the most horrible tastes for most Americans that I’ve met. But you grow up with anything and you have a deep engrained affinity…

Licorice is to Denmark and as yeast extract is to Sri Lanka… Marmite, Vegemite, and Promite are consumed widely in England, Australia, and former British Colonies. Marmite is this very salty sticky spread that you can lightly spread on toast at breakfast for example. I love it, but if you didn’t grow up with it chances are you won’t be able to stand it. I remember when I was studying abroad in Perth, Australia and there was this common prank that the aussie’s would play and all the Sepo’s – us Americans (sepo... short for septic tank... yank yank septic tank, get it... we're the septic tank of the world...) – telling the American study abroad kids that Vegemite was actually Nutella and trick them taking a big spoonful.