Ask an Icelander about sweets and you will quickly end up talking about liquorice. Known locally as lakkrís, it turns up in chocolate bars, chewy ropes, crunchy bites and little boxes of pastilles in every petrol station.
Icelandic candy also has a homely, nostalgic side. Many of the best-known bars come from a handful of local makers that have been at it for a century, and the same names fill the shelves in Reykjavík, Akureyri and every village in between.
Here is a guide to the sweets worth knowing, what they taste like, and how to buy them like a local.
A small country with its own sweet tooth
For much of the twentieth century, Iceland made most of its own confectionery. Imports were limited, so local factories shaped what generations of children grew up eating.
Three names still dominate. Freyja, founded in 1918, is the oldest candy maker still operating in the country. Nói Síríus started in 1920 as a hard-candy maker in a Reykjavík basement and began producing chocolate after buying the Síríus brand in 1933.
Góa, the youngest of the big three, opened in 1968 with a single caramel machine. Smaller firms such as Sambó, known for its liquorice, round out the picture.
Why liquorice is everywhere
Liquorice began life in Europe as a medicine, a soothing ingredient in cough remedies. Across the Nordic countries it slowly moved from the pharmacy to the sweet shop, and Iceland took to it with real enthusiasm.
Today it comes in three broad styles. Sweet liquorice is soft and mildly herbal. Salty liquorice, often called salmiak, gets its sharp, almost tingling saltiness from ammonium chloride and is far stronger than most visitors expect.
The third style is the one Iceland is best known for: liquorice paired with chocolate. The sweetness of milk chocolate softens the liquorice, and the result is less of a dare and more of a treat.
Icelandic chocolate liquorice classics
If you only try one thing, make it a chocolate-and-liquorice sweet. These are the ones that tend to convert people who swear they dislike black liquorice.
Draumur. Freyja launched Draumur, meaning "dream", in 1984. It is a bar of milk chocolate wrapped around a soft liquorice centre, and the company says it was the first time liquorice had been put inside chocolate in Iceland. It has been Freyja's biggest brand ever since.
Þristur. Made by Sambó, Þristur combines liquorice and chocolate with a chewy caramel filling. It comes in small individually wrapped pieces as well as larger bars, and it is often the gentlest introduction to the flavour.
Djúpur. Another Freyja sweet, Djúpur are chocolate-coated liquorice bites sold in bags. Look for "Sterkar Djúpur" if you want a stronger, saltier kick.
Kúlusúkk. Small balls of soft liquorice coated in chocolate, also from Sambó. They lean more towards the liquorice than Draumur does, so they suit people who already know they like it.
Liquorice without the chocolate
Lakkrísreimar. These are liquorice laces, chewy and pliable, and a straightforward taste of plain Icelandic lakkrís. Some versions are filled, while others lean towards the salty side.
Appolo. Góa's Appolo range covers classic liquorice in several shapes and is a common sight on supermarket shelves.
Ópal. Ópal pastilles come in small cardboard boxes and have been part of Icelandic life for decades. Nói Síríus took over the brand in 1995. The flavours run from sweet to strong, menthol-like and salty, so read the box before you hand them round.
If you enjoy baking, chocolate-coated liquorice is also the key ingredient in lakkrístoppar, the chewy liquorice meringues that appear on almost every December cookie plate. You will find a tested recipe in our guide to Icelandic Christmas cookies.
Chocolate bars and crunchy treats
Not every Icelandic sweet involves liquorice. Many favourites are simply chocolate, often combined with something crisp.
Hraun. Góa began making Hraun, meaning "lava", in 1973, and it has been the company's most popular product ever since. It is a chocolate-coated wafer with a rough, crunchy surface that looks a little like the lava fields it is named after.
Nóa Kropp. These crunchy corn puffs coated in milk chocolate from Nói Síríus are dangerously easy to finish. Bakers also crush them over cakes, and they make a fine topping for a marentsterta meringue cake.
Rís. Freyja's Rís is milk chocolate with puffed rice, a simple bar with a loyal following.
Síríus chocolate. For a plain bar, the Síríus range from Nói Síríus is the classic choice. Its milk chocolate is creamy rather than bitter, and the plain cooking chocolate goes into countless home bakes.
Prince Polo. This wafer bar is actually Polish, but it has been sold in Iceland for so long that many people think of it as local. It is a safe pick if you want something familiar.
For a more modern take, Omnom makes small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate in Reykjavík, with a factory shop in the Grandi harbour area. It is a good choice if you want a gift that feels a step up from the supermarket.
Nammidagur: Saturday candy
Many Icelandic families keep sweets for one day a week, Saturday, known as nammidagur (candy day) or laugardagsnammi (Saturday candy). The habit is often traced to advice from dentists in the 1980s, who argued that one treat day was kinder to children's teeth than a little sugar every day.
Supermarkets embraced the idea. Large stores have a self-service pick-and-mix wall, often called a nammibar, and many offer around half price on loose sweets on Saturdays.
Filling a bag with a little of everything, known as bland í poka, is still a popular weekend ritual. For a visitor, it is also the cheapest way to sample a wide range of Icelandic candy at once.
Easter eggs and other seasonal sweets
Easter is the biggest candy season of the year. Icelandic páskaegg are large hollow chocolate eggs filled with sweets, and each one hides a small slip of paper printed with a málsháttur, a traditional proverb.
The major makers all produce their own eggs, and families often have firm loyalties. Reading the proverbs aloud is part of the fun on Easter Sunday.
At Christmas, the focus shifts to home baking and boxed chocolates, but liquorice and chocolate still find their way onto the table. Our overview of Icelandic desserts covers the cakes and puddings that sit alongside them.
Where to buy Icelandic candy
Candy in Iceland is cheapest in supermarkets. Bónus, Krónan, Nettó and Hagkaup offer the best prices and the widest range. Petrol stations and convenience shops are handy on a road trip but cost more.
Souvenir shops sell attractive gift packs, though you pay for the packaging. Keflavík Airport has a large selection if you leave your shopping to the last minute.
If you fall for a particular bar once you are home, several Icelandic shops ship candy abroad. Scandinavian food shops outside Iceland sometimes stock the best-known names too.
Tips for first-timers
- Start with chocolate-coated liquorice such as Þristur or Draumur before trying the salty kinds.
- Treat salmiak with respect. A single piece of a strong pastille can be a lot.
- Buy chocolate near the end of your trip, and pack it flat between soft clothes.
- Visit a supermarket on a Saturday to fill a pick-and-mix bag at a discount.
Icelandic candy is a small, cheerful window into everyday life on the island. Try a few kinds, share the bag, and do not be surprised if a sweet you approached with suspicion becomes the one you miss most.
Cover photo: cogdogblog via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
About Sigrún Ólafsdóttir
Sigrún grew up baking rúgbrauð with her grandmother in Akureyri and has spent the last decade collecting recipes from kitchens all over Iceland. She writes Icelandic MAT's recipes, one dish at a time.