Ingredients
Base
- 300 gsugar
- 200 gglucose syrup
- 100 mlwater
- 50 ggelatine, or 40 g agar for a vegetarian version
Flavour
- 3 tbspliquorice root extract, or liquorice paste
- 1 tbspaniseed extract, optional
Salt
- 1to 3 tsp ammonium chloride, salmiak, food grade
- or 2 tsp fine salt, for zoute drop
To dust
- cornflour, for the moulds
To serve
- from a paper bag, a few at a time
Directions
- Drop is Dutch liquorice, most famously the salty kind, and the Netherlands eats more of it per head than any other country. Now the health facts, which need stating before anything else.
- Drop is a manufactured confection and it is difficult to reproduce well at home. A home version is possible and it will be softer and less firm than the shop kind.
- Boil the sugar, glucose and water together. Glucose syrup prevents crystallisation, and without it the sweets go grainy. Boil to about 130°C, the hard ball stage. Use a thermometer, since this is not judgeable by eye. Too low and the sweets stay sticky and never firm up.
- Stir in the liquorice extract and the salmiak off the heat. Add the salmiak gradually and taste with great caution, since it is very strong. Start with the smallest quantity, since you cannot take it out.
- Press shapes into a tray of dry cornflour with a mould or a shaped stamp, then pour the syrup in. The cornflour absorbs surface moisture and lets the sweets dry evenly.
- Leave the sweets in the cornflour overnight, or for a day or two. That drying is what firms them, and rushing it gives soft sticky drop.
- Brush off the cornflour before eating. Keep them in a sealed container, since they absorb moisture from the air and go sticky. They keep for several weeks sealed.
Technique
- Glycyrrhizin in liquorice raises blood pressure and lowers potassium.
- Salmiak is ammonium chloride and tastes quite unlike ordinary salt.
- It is a manufactured confection and a home version will be softer.
Substitutions
- Fine salt in place of salmiak, giving a plain salted liquorice.
- Bought drop, which is far easier and better.
Variations
- Zoete drop, the sweet unsalted kind.
- Dubbel zout, heavily salted and not for children.
- Honingdrop or muntdrop, with honey or mint.
History
Liquorice was sold in Dutch pharmacies as a throat remedy before becoming confectionery; the Netherlands now eats more of it per head than any country.
Frequently asked questions
What is Drop?
Drop is a snack from Netherlands: salty liquorice sweets, often with ammonium chloride, chewed all day. Liquorice was sold in Dutch pharmacies as a throat remedy before becoming confectionery; the Netherlands now eats more of it per head than any country.
How long does Drop take to make?
Drop takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min, plus overnight setting of cooking. The recipe makes about 400 g. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Drop?
Yes, within limits. Fine salt in place of salmiak, giving a plain salted liquorice. Bought drop, which is far easier and better.
What is the most important thing to get right in Drop?
Boil the sugar, glucose and water together. Glucose syrup prevents crystallisation, and without it the sweets go grainy. Boil to about 130°C, the hard ball stage. Use a thermometer, since this is not judgeable by eye. Too low and the sweets stay sticky and never firm up.
