Snapshots from the UK: Parma Violets
This year for Halloween in England, I was a peacock. The fun of Halloween in the UK is not the trick-or-treating, but the candy flavors as exotic as my costume. Black currant Starburst and Turkish delight chocolate are a beginning, but they are not my favorite.
Everyone talks about the English rose, but beautiful though she may be, I could take her or leave her. For me, it's all about the English violet—the Parma Violet.
Parma Violets are something like our chalky fruity discs rolled up and given out as generic candies, but they are purple and reek of delicious, sweet, perfuming flowers. Luckily, they don't seem to have a "please take only one" Halloween candy rule in Oxford. I keep a horde of the giant-sized Parmas in my purse in case of emergency—and to last me well through the holidays and into the New Year.
Have you tried these, or their American cousins, Choward's violets?
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11 Comments:
I love French candied violets, but find Choward's tasting a bit like eating the bottom of grandma's purse.
synaesthesia.dc at 5:14PM on 12/16/08
Choward's isn't very tasty, in my opinion, but I would be willing to try other violet candies. I think it's not a notion most Americans get, but then again, I don't understand the concept of licorice either.
Jikuu at 6:00PM on 12/16/08
I love Chowards. Everyone else I know thinks they taste like soap, so I'm weird. I'll now be on the lookout for Parma Violets~!
StripeyChef at 8:46PM on 12/16/08
I too love Chowards- the Violet Mints and the gum and I have loved them since I was a baby. They remind me of my grandmother- so the purse comment is probably right on target. But I love them.
deefine at 10:08PM on 12/16/08
Choward's _do_ taste like soap, but I love 'em anyway. I like the violet gum better than the hard pastilles.
bronxbrinergal at 10:26PM on 12/16/08
Sorry, but these are foul. Foul, I say!
Michele Humes at 9:28AM on 12/17/08
I adore Chowards! Everytime I see them at a store I grab 3 or 4 packets. StripeyChef, deefine, and bronzbrinergal I say we start a fan club!
Martini Me at 9:35AM on 12/17/08
I've loved Chowards since I was a kid, and I'm really sorry that I can't find any outside the NYC area. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on some Parma Violets.
whatzerkitty at 10:23AM on 12/17/08
My family in England sends me as many tubes as they can, as often as they can. I'm surprised I don't have cavities, I ate about a metric ton of these as a kid.
For those who don't like the ridiculous sugar content of parma violets, try Leone violet pastilles, they taste exactly the same but without being ridiculously sweet AND they come in adorable tins.
Chowards is a poor substitute and should only be used in dire circumstances.
froggo at 12:02PM on 12/17/08
I've tried quite a few different brands and types of violet sweets (including Chowards, and those pastilles that come in the little oval tins), and love that they don't taste like every other thing out there. Most of them do taste a bit like soap, but that doesn't bother me very much.
mongoose at 12:48PM on 12/17/08
Mmm... soap!
shoneyjoe at 4:46PM on 12/17/08