Tyrkisk peber
Finnish liquorice candy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tyrkisk peber (Danish for "Turkish pepper", often referred to as Turkinpippuri in Finnish, Türkisch Pfeffer in German, Tyrkisk pepper in Norwegian and Turkisk peppar in Swedish) is a brand of salty liquorice candy flavoured with salmiac, popular in Northern Europe.
Türkisch Pfeffer
Tyrkisk pepper
Turkisk peppar
Finnish cuisine
Classic tyrkisk peber sweets | |
| Alternative names | Turkinpippuri Türkisch Pfeffer Tyrkisk pepper Turkisk peppar |
|---|---|
| Type | Salty liquorice hard candy |
| Region or state | Nordic region |
| Associated cuisine | Danish cuisine Finnish cuisine |
| Invented | 1976 |
| Main ingredients | sugar, liquorice, salmiac |
The brand was first launched in 1977 by the Danish company Perelly, but was acquired the Finnish company Fazer in 1996. Although other similar sweets are commercially available, the name Tyrkisk peber is a brand name to which Fazer has the exclusive rights.[1]
History
The name tyrkisk peber (lit. 'Turkish pepper') was historically used in Denmark and Norway to refer to Capsicum annuum, which was used medicinally.[2]
The sweet was invented by Per Fjelsten in 1976 in Jutland.[3] Tyrkisk peber were first commercially sold in 1977 by Perelly, a Danish company which had been founded as Støvring Bolcher in 1946. The candy quickly became one of their best selling products and was partially acquired by Fazer in the mid 1980s. Fazer eventually purchased the entire company, and moved production from Denmark to Finland in the 1990s.[1] Under Fazer's control, the brand expanded internationally and variations of the sweet were introduced.[3]
Description
The main ingredients of the candy are liquorice and ammonium chloride, typically referred to as salmiac. The salmiac gives Tyrkisk Peber their characteristic spicy flavor which causes a burning sensation in the mouth.[4] It also causes the candy to be hygroscopic, and if left in an unsealed bag it will absorb water from the air and stick together after a few days.
The original version of the sweet is a large, hollow, round shell both coated and filled with ammonium chloride powder. It is sold in dark blue, flame-decorated bags. Tyrkisk Peber, alongside products like Super Salmiakki and Pantteri, is rated as spicy as hot sauce and measured with a flaming-star rating system.[5] In February 2024 it was reported one of the products had a Scoville scale of 900,000.[6]
Variations
The tyrkisk peber product family has later expanded to include the "Hot & Sour" (a milder variant of the traditional design, produced in four different flavours; Spicy Citrus, Pepper Liquorice, Chilli Melon and Strawberry Surprise) and "Bonfire" (soft, much milder candies) bagged variants, as well as lollipops and filled liquorice. There has also been a chili-flavoured version and a strongly licorice-flavoured version with less of the ammonium chloride and peppercorn flavouring, but these have since been discontinued. However, the licorice-flavoured variant can still be found as one of the flavours in the "Hot & Sour" bags. In Northern Europe there are competing different versions of salmiac-based candy, including pulverpadder (frog shaped candies), rustne søm and spejderhagl.
Tyrkisk peber is used to make the Finnish candy shot Salmiakki Koskenkorva and in similar Scandinavian drinks. When Perelly manufactured tyrkisk peber, it was also available as powder which was often used to make a drink known in Denmark as sorte svin, små grå, hot shot or lakridsshot, in Sweden as lakritsshot, and in Norway as tyrker, små grå or lakrisshot.
Firewood shaped tyrkisk peber
Tyrkisk peber ice cream
Tyrkisk Peber flavoured chocolate
