Liquorice Allsorts

It was about time to finally get started! My first entry is about Liquorice Allsorts… 
Basically because they were really easy to find! 

My first tasting experience for the blog! Yummy!

What is it?

   Liquorice Allsorts is a kind of sweet confected with liquorice, sugar, coconut, fruit fondants, aniseed jelly and gelatine. The liquorice component is extracted from the roots of a plant called Glycyrrhiza glabra, which is native to southern Europe and some parts of Asia. In Britain, they are often eaten as snacks or as a children’s treat. In other countries, it is also used as a spice and as an ingredient to soft drinks.

A little bit of history…

   The first kind of Liquorice Allsorts was produced by Geo. Bassett & Co Ltd in Hillsborough, Sheffield, around the year of 1899. They are still an important brand on the market (even though now they are controlled by Cadbury’s) and produce an average of 14 million allsorts a day.

   According to the company, Liquorice Allsorts started being produced by accident. It is said that Charlie Thompson, a Bassett’s salesperson, was talking to a customer about an order when his tray of samples fell on the floor. They were all over the place, and while Thompson tried to get them all together again, the customer got interested in this various scrambled sweets and placed some orders of it.

How does it taste like?
   I wasn’t very sure of what to expect when I ate my first Liquorice Allsorts. One of my flatmates, Lucy, was there with me at the moment – and she told me a lot of British people don’t really like it… So it was good to get some support! ;)
   I tried the entire black one first. The texture was quite different, and reminded me of some jelly gums we have in Brazil. The taste, though, was just completely different. It’s not very sweet – I found it a little bitter, actually. I don’t think I can eat lots of it, because I’m a real sugar fan, but I can’t also say they’re not good.
   After that, I tried one of the coloured ones, because they seemed more appealing. Went for the pink rounded-shaped. This one was much sweeter, and I liked it better. The texture is also a little different: it feels more fibrous and less gelatinous.

Representations in British culture

   Liquorice Allsorts is very used by the Bassett’s company in its marketing. Their mascot, Bertie Bassett, is a figure made up of liquorice allsorts and was created in 1929 by John McEwan. It has become quite popular ever since.

   In the 1970’s, many TV adverts for this sweet came up. The slogan was: “All sorts love Allsorts and Bassets make ‘em best!”. Apparently, they didn’t want to focus only on children, even though the visual elements for these commercials are very playful with colours and childish situations.

   In the 80s and 90s, however, these commercials changed their slogan to “One too many and you might turn Bertie”. Again, they address a very broad audience, but the visual elements seem more mature – the actors and their situation in this advert, for example:

   This sweet is also sometimes described in children’s books. Searching through Google, I have encountered with “Daisy All Sorts”, by Pamela Allen, which is a book about a dog that loves Liquorice Allsorts. I thought it was quite funny! I have also found literary references to it in “Just William”, a book with short stories about a young school boy written by Richmal Crompton; and “Sweet Memories”, by Robert Opie, who wrote a nostalgic book about British confectionary. Even though I haven’t read any of these, it was possible to notice from the reviews and readers’ comments that Liquorice Allsorts is always portrayed as delicious and childish.

The beginning

I have always loved sweets. When I was little, my mom would always get mad at me for eating candy before meals (she still does, sometimes), and my dad would often bring little chocolates for me and my sister when he got back from work. My grandmas used to bake delicious cakes when I went over, and I have learned with them one of my favourite recipes: "bolinhos de chuva", a typical Brazilian dessert similar to scones. I always got excited at birthday parties for the surprise candies, and also about going to the beach to have some ice cream by the shore. And I still love giving cupcakes to my friends as gifts on special occasions, or simply just eating "brigadeiro" (another Brazilian candy) when we are not having a good day.

"Bolinhos de chuva" are my grandmas' specialty!
We usually eat them with  sugar and cinnamon.

This year, I am very far away from all of that. I have decided to come to London for a year on an exchange program, and everything has been really different from home. It is all news: lots of different tastes, smells, textures, colors and people to dine with. I miss them a lot, but I am also extremely happy for being here.

In the middle of this new environment, I have decided to take a "Literature of Food" course at university. On my first class, I was told I had to set up a blog about any food topic I wanted - and gosh, it was hard choosing the subject!

Even though I love my country, I have decided to take a chance and get to know English food. And then it was easy to choose what kind of food: I wanted sweets! Lots of sugar, chocolate, syrup, fruits and everything in between. My idea is to taste as many English candies and desserts as possible, and write down every curious and delicious aspect of it. I will do some research to find out how and when these dishes were created, which are the most common recipes, where are the famous places to eat them and maybe even interview a few people to see what they think about it. Of course I will also give my opinion about it and take  loads of pictures of everything!

I think this is going to be a really exciting experience and cannot wait to share all the funny and surprising moments of it. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome, and hopefully this project will help me understand English culture a bit more and miss home a little less. Enjoy!

Already cooked "brigadeiro" for a friend's party
 here in London. It tasted great!