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Liquorice Allsorts




Liquorice allsorts (also spelt '''Licorice allsorts''') consist of a variety of Liquorice Candies sold as a mixture. These Confection s are made of Liquorice , sugar, Coconut , aniseed jelly, fruit flavourings, and gelatine. They were first produced in Sheffield , England by Geo. Bassett & Co Ltd (now a part of the Cadbury's consortium).

Allsorts are produced by many companies around the world today, and are most popular in Britain , continental Europe, and North America. South Africa n confectionery giant Beacon produces substantial quantities of the product, where it is both sold locally and exported to such countries as Australia and Portugal .

Bassett's use the story of their creation in their marketing. In 1899 Charlie Thompson, a sales representative, supposedly dropped a tray of samples he was showing a client, mixing up the various sweets. He scrambled to re-arrange them, and the client was intrigued by the new creation. Quickly, the company began to mass-produce the allsorts, and they became very popular.

The Bassett's company mascot is "Bertie Bassett", a figure made up of liquorice allsorts which has become a part of British popular culture. Bertie was created on January 1 1929 after months of internal discussion. One of the sweets in the current allsorts mix is a liquorice figure which is shaped like Bertie.

Bassett's have since released two varieties of liquorice allsorts which do not feature any liquorice. "Fruit allsorts" feature mixed-fruit flavoured sweets, whilst "Dessert allsorts" have flavours such as apple Tart and lemon Cheesecake . Both retain the shapes and textures of the original sweet. ''Red allsorts'', with fruit-flavoured liquorice, were briefly released in the late 1990s, but were discontinued.


TRIVIA

  • The '' Doctor Who '' serial '' The Happiness Patrol '' featured the Kandy Man , a sinister android, made up of candies, that resembled Bertie Bassett. Although a BBC internal investigation concluded that the resemblance was coincidental, it promised Bassett's that the Kandy Man would not appear again.

  • The Dutch name for liquorice allsorts is "Engelse drop", literally translated "English liquorice".



EXTERNAL LINKS


  • [http://www.cadburyschweppes.com/EN/Brands/About/Confectionery/factsheet_bassetts.htm Bassett's Info and History from Cadbury-Schweppes]