Friday, May 14, 2010

Jenkki

As one of Alex's unsuspecting subordinates, I have been given the painstaking task of tasting this particular type of Jenkki Salmiakki:


Now, my Finnish may be a bit out of practice - but thanks to Google Translate, I was at least able to determine what type of Salmiakki I was about to eat. Apparently, "chewing gum" translates to "purukumi", which is written on the packaging. Chewing gum you say? All I could think of was me playing baseball as a youngster with a bag of delicious Big League Chew.

Unfortunately, my daydreams disappeared immediately. The licorice scent burst out like a BP oil spill as I opened the packaging - and if it weren't for the Frozn variety covered earlier, this post would have ended long before I began writing it.

I spent a few minutes offering several friends some pieces (along with a chance to share their saliva with the garbage can) before I decided to enjoy some of my own, and I was surprised to find the taste bearable despite the dirty licorice smell.

The full-bodied licorice taste is overwhelming enough to mask the salty undertones. As with almost all chewing gum, the flavor does not last long enough to make you want to spit it out. Because of this, Jenkki earns the edible rating.

15 comments:

  1. You have not even scratched the surface with your tastings, try e.g. Lakrisal, or Lääke Salmiakki (traditional licorice for medicinal purposes) and so many more...

    Did you know they also sell licorice in Australia as well? Very yummy to a Finn's mouth too...

    Lets face it, the best candy in the world is licorice, nowhere else do you get any better options!

    Who would even consider making a hate blog of chocolate, rock candy or gummy bears, bleah :P

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  2. Seems like Alex took the easy way out... Couldn't dare to eat the salmiac himself so he just feeds the delicates to his friends :)

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  3. well, there we go. The actually interesting prospect of one guy providing a consistent personal opinion of something was watered down.
    WTF?

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  4. i think i'll pass on this one

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  5. gonna check again in couple weeks, i wonder what's next in line

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  6. Did you mean liquorice or salmiac?
    If the latter, you forgot the magic word "salty" or "salted". It makes all the difference.

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  7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaX8YTVWDkY
    After 1:16, old Jenkki commercial from yearly 80's

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  8. BTW, what is quite funny with Salmiakki purukumi is the name "Jenkki" which translates to Yankee.

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  9. MMM... This is about the only chewing gum that I really eat/use/chew. Salmiakki is the best. Next time try to be a man and eat it. ;)

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  10. But remember, that Jenkki is sweetened with Xylitol which is very good for your teeth! You should always consider eating one after a meal or snack as it cuts off the "acid attack" in your mouth :)

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