In a quest for scientific nirvana, a few of us here at the Rachel Maddow Show are searching for answers behind the mystical sour power of Lakrisal, the Scandinavian “candy” we were introduced to last week by the great Vanessa Silverton-Peel.
The ingredients in Lakrisal are ammonium chloride, licorice and sugar.
Ultimately, our far-reaching goals include perhaps making our own Lakrisal in our “lab” here at 30 Rock:
But the search for ammonium chloride has brought up some rather sketchy-looking results. The only way to purchase ammonium chloride seems to be in bulk. And is buying a bunch of this stuff on the internet a bad idea, or does it just look like a bad idea?
PHOTO: A glimpse at the Ebay results for "ammonium chloride"
We are attempting to find a smaller amount of the stuff, a packet perhaps, somewhere in the New York City area. Any advice is warmly appreciated.
More updates to come soon. A food scientist, wise in the ways of licorice and sourness, has graciously offered an over-the-phone, crash-course in why these taste-bud-killing tablets taste the way they do.
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The only advise I can give is to remind you that a "bulk" purchase probably isn't a good idea in this age of the "Patriot Act" and spying on American citizens. But good luck.
I think you're thinking of ammonium nitrate. You can make a bang with ammonium chloride, but not the same kind of bang.
I think I see where you're headed. Do you posit Lakrisal candy is actually an explosive compound readily available as a retail confection? Yes? So... how many Lakrisal does it take to blow open a bank vault? Or how many Lakrisal does it take to blow up an airplane? -Or blow up some terrorist children?
I demand answers. Please investigate fully. This will have to include experimental detonation of at least a kilogram of Lakrisal.
Yuk, good investigative reporting. I also like the peacock border wallpaper. You've got all those eyes watching you. Now, they will probably change the wallpaper.Has anyone been buying this candy by the bulk. Perhaps someone in Oklahoma?It could also serve as a good excuse to why somoeone would buy this poison.
Well, better to get the small amount, if you can. Mail ordering a pound of the stuff isn't going to get you into trouble though.
Now if you were ordering 500 pounds, that might be a different story. But if you needed that much, just go to a farm coop in Jersey.
Maybe a local school or university, with a decent chemistry lab, would offer a few tablespoons?
Yes, I can see the look on the ATF agents face now when you explain to him you just wanted to make "candy".
Ammonium Chloride, 1 oz.
Chemical Grade:
Lab
Formula:
NH4Cl
CAS:
12125-02-9
No-Return Policy...
See Below.
Cat No. -
NC-7473
Price -
$3.25
Quantity:
And now for something completely different.
Hey Rachel:
Here's a HEADLINE for you:
New York Times: CIA officers regulating arms traffic to Syria opposition groups
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/new-york-times-cia-officers-regulating-arms-traffic-to-syria-opposition-groups-1.440110
I think the photo with this article speaks volumes about Obama's insistence on using US military power to quote "protect civilians". By secretly supplying arms to anti-Assad militias and mercenaries, Obama is directly responsible for much of the violence and civilian deaths he conveniently blames on Assad. Again, the term is called "wrong-footing".
Either you people have been fooled, or you are complicit in the BIG LIE.
The voters didn't vote for this.
Try a culinary school for a small amount...some folks use it in cookies to make them crisp, so a baking school should have some. G'luck!
interesting - I wonder why the ammonium chloride makes the cookies taste crisp?
Looking at the Wikipedia entry, it appears to be a rare example of a commercial chemical with the word "ammonium" in the name that's not insanely caustic, dangerously explosive or wildly toxic.
Forget the chemical -- look at the picture of Kim Jong Un inspecting a new kitchen on photo rotation on the front page of the. (North) Korean Central News Agency site.
The header pic here seemed familiar ... :)
www kcna. kp / goHome. do? lang = eng
An online search found this site - small amt. 1 oz:
http://www.sciencecompany.com/Ammonium-Chloride-1-oz-P6355C668.aspx
Chemistry kits sometimes come with small containers of ammonium chloride. Like this one: http://www.elementalscientific.net/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=37
Search for Baker's Ammonia
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/bakers-ammonia-ammonium-carbonate-27-oz
Sooooooo...when 30 Rock is evacuated due to a suspicious white powder, we all blame Julia? ;)
P.S. Though Lakrisal is apparently pretty nasty, I've been reading that it's quite tasty when infused in vodka...
Now how did they get away with not regulating this chemical? There must be a loophole somewhere in the Regulations that should be imposed on this extremely dangerous chemical. I don't get it who the hell is selling this?And more importantly who is buying it?Not I said the fly(spy) on the wall.Yes, our peacocks can see you.Why do I suddenly feel like I'm on an episode of CSI? I want to be the girl who dresses up like Norma Jeane
Oh, honey, I remember the problems I encountered buying a package of ammonium chloride at an agricultural co-op in southeastern Kansas. My colleagues at Moo U and I were using it as a test remediation of heavy metal - contaminated soils in a lead mining area. But, I'm sure if you tell the folks at your Manhattan Mid-Town co-op that you're just using it to make candy, you'll be aces! :) Long Live Rachel! Long Live Her Voice!
My partner (a Dane) insists that Lakrisal "is not that bad". You should have seen his expression when he said it though.
But yeah..whenever there's something which I know I'm never going to want to taste again, my next goal is to try baking some of it.
lol
Is he from Jutland by any chance? Sounds like the typical Jutlandian (esp the south) less jubilant form of praise, where "not that bad" means "great" and "pretty good" means "awesome" and "great" means "OMG the best fracking thing in the world and I really really REALLY mean that!!!" :)
LOL! No..he's from Lejre (his grandmother lives near Aalborg however).
I think in this instance "not that bad" meant he wasn't ready to admit to me that it is awful (it is something from Scandinavia after all). But he is a licorice addict and I notoriously mis-guess what he means on a regular basis.
Baker's Ammonia (Hartshorn--cool name) and salt?
http://www.godecookery.com/cookies/infoba.html
I'd recommend food or USP grade if possible.
Yes, food grade! Just because something is 99% pure, doesn't mean that the impure 1% is going to be safe to ingest. The food grade may be less pure but non-toxic.
Not that anyone should be eating ammonia salts. I like licorice, but salted licorice is nasty.
After the original blog post, my friend in Finland sent me some to try. It's still sitting on my kitchen counter while I work up the guts to try it. And will then be leaving the rest in the communal candy basket of the unsuspecting Redmond newsroom.....
To reiterate what someone has stated above - Lab grade chemicals ARE NOT necessarily safe to eat. Lab grade and food grade are VERY different things. Buy the baker's ammonia.
As a chemistry teacher of many many years, my advice comes with understanding....do NOT eat so-called pure lab chemicals of any kind. Pure for a lab does not equal pure for a food. Can't you just have someone in Sweden send you the candy???
No refrigerator magnets? How can this be?
There are fridge magnets, but they're out of sync with the rest of the universe by one second. That's why you can't see them.
Where am I, Who are you, Are we really at a candy tasting party? I didn't think so. There needs to be tighter regulations on the sale of chemicals such as these.