Citrus Ginger Throat Candy

Japanese Nodo-ame (のど飴) or throat candy, have a reputation for being more like a regular candy than something to medicate when you have a sore throat. At the time I bought this pack, my husband was sick with a cold and a sore throat. I took them home but somehow he overlooked them and didn't use them.

This time around it's me who has a sore throat, and I thought I could give an accurate review in regards to my feelings on the candy's effectiveness.

This throat candy is made by Kanro, a company known for it's candy and gummy. The flavour is Citrus and Ginger, and the pack shows a picture of lemons, an orange, and grapefruits. The pack itself is somewhat rustic looking and quite different to other throat candy packets I have seen. It seems to be more "homestyle" as if trying to represent a feeling of nature or natural.

There are 10 individually wrapped pieces of lemon-yellow candy. They are approximately 1.5 x 2.3 cm, and 0.8cm high. There is a vague smell of grapefruit from the candy itself.

The first thing I taste when I put the candy in my mouth is the citrus flavour, mostly of grapefruit. It's a nice flavour, not too sour, but also not too sweet. Other moments I can taste the tang of lemon, or juicy orange, but mostly the grapefruit comes through. As I suck the candy piece, a ginger taste starts to build up in my mouth until it becomes a very hot feeling. It's mostly on my tongue and inside of the cheeks than at the throat. Even swallowing the burning hot, does not make my throat feel hot. The hotness stays in my mouth.

Surprisingly my nose started to become unblocked after sucking on this candy for a few minutes. My throat also felt slightly less sore. I can only attribute that to the ginger, as I know that it has healing properties, and is a well-used ingredient in cold and flu remedies.

The hotness in my mouth is not like eating a chilli, it's more like someone turned a heater on in my mouth. It's hard to describe. It's not uncomfortable. I imagine if you are eating it in Winter as I am, It's a very nice warm-up for a cold night.

The candy is hard all the way through. I'm glad of that though. I'm not really a fan of the candies that have liquid in the centre.

I think this candy lived up to expectations and absolutely topped them. My throat has definitely benefitted from this candy, unlike most other Japanese throat candies I have tried. It also has a nice natural flavour, and the heat which the ginger generates in my mouth is a welcome relief from the cold.

If indeed you like these flavours in general, you needn't stick to eating them only when you are sick. I think this candy could be enjoyed at any time of the year.

I thoroughly recommend these throat candies. Please note that Kanro have changed the pack design and the amount of candies contained inside to 11. The image of the new pack is here.