When Tundra Trading recently sent us a box of their Finnish sweets to try, I was thrilled to try the licorice, but somewhat hesitant to experience the variety of xylitol-based confections included (given Brian’s experience with xylitol). Well, as it turns out, my expectations were turned completely upside down.
Of the assortment, I tried first the red Tire Tread, having previously mentioned the black licorice version. The red is similar to the black, though a bit less sticky. The flavor is slightly fruity, but doesn’t bear any specific flavor reference. Overall, I enjoyed the red quite a bit and would definitely recommend it to fans of red licorice.
Next up were two types of Tubi’s Organic Soft Licorice – one long rope and a bag of small chews. In every way except length, the two varieties were identical. Unfortunately, that means that I didn’t really enjoy either of them. I found the Tubi’s to be somewhat grainy and the texture to be unpleasant. The flavor was only OK, and overall I was less than impressed.
The other two types of candy were gum and mints based on the sugar-alternative xylitol. After a bit of research, I discovered that xylitol is a sweetener found naturally in fibers of various plants. I also found that it is reputed to not only be safe for diabetics, but it even helps fight tooth decay. Now if only it tasted good…let’s see…
To be honest, I was shocked. I expected some nasty after-taste ridden monstrosity, but discovered instead that all of the gum and mints were downright good.
The gum:
- Fruit – reminiscent of a Juicyfruit type gum, with a mild fruity flavor
- Chocolate - a bit odd, it reminded me slightly of the flavor of a Tootsie Roll
- Licorice - extremely light licorice flavor, but not at all unpleasant
- Cinnamon - I’m not a huge cinnamon lover, but this had a decent cinnamon flavor without having that extra bite that sometimes turns me off.
The only issue I had with the gum was that neither the flavor nor the bulk of the piece stuck around for long. I’m not a huge gum chewer, but I recall having the same problem with other sugar-free gum in the past.
The mints:
- Raspberry - very tasty with a definite berry flavor; nice and sweet, definitely my favorite
- Lemon - only a slight lemon flavor, and quite sweet, somewhat like a lemon drop
- Peppermint - very minty, I think they would definitely appeal to those who enjoy peppermint, but the texture was a bit different than the other two flavors.
Overall, I really liked these mints, though I would hesitate to call either the lemon or the raspberry flavor a mint. Instead, it’s more like a small, delicious hard candy.
The xylitol candies were definitely a surprise for me. I completely expected to find an unnatural flavor or a disgusting aftertaste, but instead found some really good flavors. I may well end up ordering some more once my samples run out!
Buy these candies online:
- at Amazon.com
(OK, I’m laughing ’cause the anti-spam word to post this was “brian,” your hallowed leader)…so, ahem, anyway…
I enjoyed this article; it was well thought out and nicely written. I appreciated the honesty about the pre-concieved notion of how bad the xylitol products might be and the surprise that they were actually quite good, as well as the description of the grainy texture of the licorice.
This is the reason I love Candy Addict: honest, interesting, colorfully-descriptive and well-written articles about my favorite food type! Thanks, and hey, enjoy those raspberry “mints!”
July 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm