Dubbelzoute drop — dubbelzout for short, "double-salted" in English — is licorice with a markedly higher dose of salmiak than ordinary zoute drop. It is the variety Dutch people tend to hand to foreign visitors as a test, and the one most likely to produce a grimace. For the many Dutch adults who eat it routinely, it is simply their drop.

In short Dubbelzout is not a legal grade but a trade name. On real ingredient lists the salmiak content of double-salted drop is often in the high single figures: one Venco Dubbel Zout listing, for instance, gives salmiak salt at 9.8% and licorice extract at 2.5%.

What "dubbel" means

The word describes the taste rather than a measured doubling. Makers use dubbelzout for their strongest mainstream salted lines, and some go further with extra or "salmiak" products. You will often read online that Dutch law caps salmiak at 7.99%, or requires warnings at 2% and 4.49%. Those figures come from former German rules for Salzlakritz (above 2% labelled "Erwachsenenlakritz", 4.49–7.99% "extra stark", and a former ban above 7.99% that has since been lifted); they are not Dutch law, and Dutch double-salted products on sale today can exceed 8%.

How it tastes

The first moment is licorice; then the ammonium chloride arrives as a sharp, slightly sour, tongue-drying sensation that builds rather than fades. Hard double-salted drop releases it slowly; soft versions deliver it at once. Many double-salted pieces are dusted or coated with salmiak powder, so the outside is the strongest part. Some also carry a hint of anise.

Forms and brands

Double-salted drop comes in rounds, coins, bricks (briketten), diamonds and soft cubes. Venco sells a Dubbel Zout range (including rondjes and briketten), Klene and other makers have their own, and supermarkets sell own-label versions. The maker histories are in Venco and Klene.

Health

The warning that matters for drop concerns glycyrrhizin, the sweet compound in licorice extract, rather than the salt. Habitual large intakes can raise blood pressure and lower potassium. The EU Scientific Committee on Food considered in 2003 that up to 100 mg of glycyrrhizinic acid a day should protect most adults, and EU law requires a hypertension warning on confectionery with 4 g/kg or more of glycyrrhizinic acid. How much drop that corresponds to depends on the product, so people with high blood pressure should take medical advice. More detail is in the chemistry of licorice.

Outside the Netherlands

Double-salted drop is rare in British or American shops. Its closest relatives are the strong salty licorices of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, and the Salzlakritz of northern Germany. The buying guide covers specialist sellers abroad.