Malena loves candy. And travel. And both together. And thus, this site was born.
by 
This is one of my favorite candies ever! I first discovered it at the base gas station when I was stationed in Albuquerque. After moving to Boston, I was absolutely unable to find it again, and went into a small period of mourning. One of the main reasons I was excited to visit Spain was to retry this candy.
It’s absolutely addictive. A soft, sweet, cremey center - a bit chewy and fruity tasting, but the actual flavor of fruit will be forever indistinguishable to me. A harder, licorice like exterior. Lots of fun to peel the outer shell off and then enjoy the center. I am totally unable to stop at half a bag of these - they’re extremely dangerous in that regard. I ate loads of them in Spain and miss them terribly already.
This sort of licorice candy is very popular in Spain - the candy stores and grocery stalls are full of long strips of creme-filled licorice of all colors and flavors. The Pico Balla is very representative of modern Spanish candy. Yum! I think surprisingly, Spain is going to win out as my favorite European candy country.
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You can buy Pico Balla here. If you’ve never tried it before, I highly recommend it!
posting from Great Britain (UK)November 3rd, 2008 6:38 am
in England we have a long version of this - about a foot of strawberry liquorice with soft chewy stuff in the middle
posting from United StatesNovember 3rd, 2008 12:51 pm
yes! that’s the stuff i’m talking about, except it came in one really long cord. Man, what I would not do for some cord right now in Ohio.
posting from LebanonNovember 6th, 2008 2:48 am
Mm that type of long licorice cord was also really popular in Spain. Seriously, I was in candy heaven there!
posting from United StatesFebruary 6th, 2009 6:33 pm
I bought a twelve pack set on Amazon and I’m on my 4th bag (in five days). I found it in Italy and haven’t been able to find it since, except online. The best $15 I’ve ever spent.
posting from ThailandFebruary 8th, 2009 5:04 am
rio - I agree! Sooooo amazing! I’m not sure I can buy it in bulk, I’d eat it to quickly. Yum.
Anyway this blog entry is getting spammed with junk comments, so I’m shutting down comments. Sorry everyone!
November 1st, 2008 11:02 am
One of the smaller London airports used to sell candy like this in ropes. You should try the kind Harry and David offer! they’re about an inch long- hours of licorice peeling fun!!
I’m totally with you on this one. Sugar!