{{Short description, Hard candy with an aniseed flavour

Kongen af Danmark (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

for "King of Denmark") is a type of

hard candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varietie ...

with an

aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and tar ...

flavour. The candy was previously eaten as a cure for

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages that can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three pha ...

and for general "chest pains". The candy is marketed in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

by Karamellpojkarna as "Kungen av Danmark". The candies are hard, deep red or purple in colour and classified as cough drops. They are sold in regular and sugar-free versions.

History

The candy was previously known in Sweden as "Kungens av Danmark bröstkarameller" (literally "the king's of Denmark chest sweets") which was later changed to "Kungen av Danmarks bröstkarameller" (literally "the king of Denmark's chest sweets"), which is even today mentioned when teaching the grammar of the

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countr ...

. Sigurd, Bengt
Konungens av Danmark bröstkarameller och genitivreglerna
''Språkvård'' #1/1995, pp. 9 - 15. According to history, King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

(1646-1699) had throat pains and was given aniseed oil by his doctor, as was the case with throat pains at the time. The king thought raw aniseed oil tasted too strong, so the doctor blended it with sugar and a small amount of

beetroot The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

juice.

References

Candy Danish confectionery

History

See also

References