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Liquorice Allsorts is a candy mixture. On average, there are about 10 different types of candies in an all-sorts mixture, depending on which brand you buy. Some of the candies in the mix are pure liquorice, others are constructed from both liquorice and paste (fondant) candy. Some are circular with coconut, some are layered squares, etc.

Everyone has their favourites in the bag, and sometimes you can every buy bags of just the one type that is your favourite.

Everyone who likes them has a brand that for them is "definitive." Bassetts is the original and the brand that some consider the best. You can also now buy "Fruit Allsorts", in which the layers that would have been liquorice are fruity-flavoured instead.

I tried so hard to like this as a kid because the candies just looked so jolly. They were a lot of fun, you could choose which ones you'd eat in which order, you could trade, etc. But I just couldn't get past the liquorice taste. Apparently I'm not entirely alone -- the rosette shaped one, which is pure liquorice with no paste, is the one most likely not to get eaten.

History
Allsorts were introduced by the candy firm Bassetts in England in 1899.

Literature & Lore
The story goes, (and it is probably myth, but who can be a stickler when it comes to a fun topic like Liquorice Allsorts) that a salesman was carrying around various sorts of candies to deliver, but had a mishap that caused them all to get mixed up. The customer asked him what kind of candies these were, and the salesman replied stoically, "All sorts, by the look of it!". The mixture proved popular, the shopkeeper ordered more, and the new product took off.

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