European Snacks to Buy, From Prato Biscotti to Danish Licorice
This guide sticks to European snacks that come dry, sealed or tinned: biscuits, sugar pastilles, licorice, candy and conservas.
Below they are sorted by country, with what each maker says about how it is made, the listed price and a table that totals one set per country.
Italy: biscotti, amaretti and pastilles
Antonio Mattei codified its recipe for Biscotti di Prato in 1858 and still makes them in its workshop on via Ricasoli in Prato, according to the maker. Mattei lists soft wheat flour, sugar, almonds, free-range eggs and pine nuts, and suggests them with Vin Santo at the end of a meal or with a coffee (shop Antonio Mattei Biscotti di Prato, $17.00, 250 g).
La Sassellese makes a crunchy amaretti from Liguria; the listing gives the ingredients as sugar, apricot kernels, almonds and egg white (shop La Sassellese Amaretti, $4.00, 2.1 oz). Loison's Dolci Pensieri box holds 16 individually wrapped all-butter shortbread cookies, four each of pear, citron, chamomile and black cherry, per the listing (shop Loison Dolci Pensieri, $20.00, 160 g).
Pastiglie Leone traces its start to 1857, when Luigi Leone began making small pastilles in Neive, in Piedmont; the company now works in Collegno, near Turin. The Mandarino tin lists sugar, gum arabic, tragacanth, tangerine juice, natural flavors, tartaric acid and cochineal extract (shop Leone Mandarino, $6.00, 0.95 oz).
France: anise pastilles and nougat
Les Anis de Flavigny makes its pastilles at the abbey in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain to a recipe the maker dates to 1591. Each one is a green anise seed coated in sugar, about 1 gram, and the maker says one takes 15 days to make. The Anis tin is the original flavor (shop Anis de Flavigny Anis, $8.00, 50 g).
Maffren is a confectionery house in Le Poët, Provence, founded in 1945, according to the listing. Its white nougat bar is topped with sliced dried strawberries (shop Maffren White Nougat with Strawberries, $12.50, 100 g).
Denmark and Sweden: licorice and candy
Johan Bülow started Lakrids by Bülow in Svaneke in 2007, opening the first shop on 07.07.07, and says he learned to cook, roll and cut the licorice by hand. The D, Salt & Caramel flavor is a sweet licorice core coated in dulce chocolate and finished with flakes of sea salt, made in Copenhagen, per the listing (shop Lakrids by Bülow D, Salt & Caramel, $23.99, 10.41 oz). See also the licorice guide.
So Sweet's Red Mix is a bag of Swedish-style candy in strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavors. So Sweet says its candies are packed in an NSF-certified facility near Los Angeles, with a full ingredient list on every bag (shop So Sweet Red Mix, $16.00, 8 oz). See also the Swedish candy guide.
Spain and Portugal: tinned seafood and a sauce
Espinaler was founded in 1896 in Vilassar de Mar, near Barcelona, as a tavern opened by Miquel Riera y Prat. In 1952 Ventureta Roldós created the formula for Salsa Espinaler, which the maker describes as vinegar, red paprika, black pepper and selected spices. The listing says it was made to go with Spanish conservas (shop Salsa Espinaler, $6.49, 92 ml).
Ramón Peña's Silver Line mussels are grown on floating rafts in Galician estuaries, hand-fried and packed in escabeche, a sauce of oil, vinegar and spices, according to the listing (shop Ramón Peña Mussels in Pickled Sauce, $13.99, 110 g). From Portugal, José Gourmet is a Lisbon conservas brand launched in 2008 by Adriano Ribeiro, per the listing; its sardines come packed in extra virgin olive oil (shop José Gourmet Sardines in Olive Oil, $8.49, 125 g).
For a party built on Spanish snacks, see the chips and ham party.
European snacks to buy, by country
| Country | What goes in | Total at listed prices |
|---|---|---|
| France | Anis de Flavigny Anis, Maffren nougat | $20.50 |
| Spain and Portugal | Salsa Espinaler, Ramón Peña mussels, José Gourmet sardines | $28.97 |
| Denmark and Sweden | Lakrids by Bülow D, So Sweet Red Mix | $39.99 |
| Italy | Mattei Biscotti di Prato, La Sassellese amaretti, Loison Dolci Pensieri, Leone Mandarino | $47.00 |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com.
Short answers
What are Biscotti di Prato? Almond biscuits from Prato, in Tuscany, also called cantucci. Antonio Mattei has made them in Prato since 1858.
What is Salsa Espinaler? A sauce of vinegar, red paprika, black pepper and spices, created at Espinaler in Vilassar de Mar in 1952.
Where is Lakrids by Bülow licorice from? Denmark. Johan Bülow started the company in Svaneke in 2007, and the listing says the licorice is made in Copenhagen.
The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver.
