Selection From the Sweets Shop

When the editor summoned me and told me to explore the field of Icelandic candy, I thought it would a dream assignment. It was, and it wasn’t. I got an opportunity to gorge myself on various sugary products, guilt-free, and write it off as research, but I also experienced that tummy-ache my mother warned me about as a kid. While I recommend that you try some of the Icelandic candy available, keep this in mind, mother knows best.
Rjómatoffí
This ‘cream toffee’ bar from Nói Síríus might be one of the more unique bars on the shelf. With chocolate outside, this bar has a hard-as-toffee inside of what Nói Síríus calls cream. It seems to us, however, that this filling is purely sugar. This thing tastes great, but be careful… midway through the bar you can feel the oncoming diabetes.
Hraun
‘Hraun’ means ‘Lava,’ and this bar is shaped as though a chocolate-spouting volcano erupted over a wafer-field of puffed rice and maize starch (That’s probably how it’s advertised, anyway). The texture is rough, and bits and pieces of puffed rice pop out like a bits of a lava field. This bar is a creative take on the wafer/chocolate ‘Prins Polo’ bar, and it seems like a sweet version of the conga bar, which lacks the puffed rice that Hraun bars have.
Rís
Rís by Freyja is like a bar of Nóa Kropp. It consists of sugary, puffed corn balls covered in chocolate. The bars are long and look nasty on the bottom. This is a more sugar saturated version of Nóa Kropp, and if you have to make a decision between the two, we’d suggest just sticking to the latter.
Síríuslengja
Made entirely with Síríus milk chocolate, this ‘long bar’ is probably the cornerstone of the Síríus candy line. The taste is absolutely unbeatable, as Síríus makes some of the best chocolate in Iceland. The best comparison between Freyja and Síríus would be the difference between Hershey’s and Cadbury. You know which one is milkier. The lengja bar is probably the best place to start, though it’s hardly the best that Nói Síríus has to offer.
Nizza með súkkulaðiperlum
‘Með súkkulaðiperlum’ translates to ‘with Chocolate Pearls.’ The ‘pearls’ on the inside can be likened to m & m minis, with the same top-of-the-line chocolate that Síríus never fails to offer. This is our favourite bar of the lot and, if anything, make sure you have one of these before leaving.
Pipp með piparmyntufyllingu
‘Piparmyntufylling’ might be a mouthful, but when broken down it just means ‘with mint filling.’ Pipp is another bar by the fabulous Síríus, so again the chocolate is outstanding. This thing is more like a bar of Junior Mints than Peppermint Patties, as the texture of the chocolate is more milky than cakey.
Malta
This is the malt answer to all the corn and/or rice wafer bars, and we’d say that they are the best (and probably healthiest) of the wafered lot.
Nóa Kropp
Nóa Kropp is unlike anything that is available in the United States: Sugary puffed corn-balls sopped in milk chocolate. Our editor loves these things. I’d say that it’s just like Kellogg’s Pops dipped in chocolate. These things are an excellent introduction to Icelandic candy.