RJ's Licorice Medley product reviews

Licorice medley is my favourite when it comes to bags of licorice. And the RJs 450g bag is such a fantastic size, especially for families like my own that are 2 parents and more than 1 or 2 children. Often family bags or share bags of any sweet treat are so small in size that for families like mine you are lucky to get 3 or 4 small little lollies each. But not when it comes to these. Everyone gets a fair share and that is such an important thing for any family that has children lol

The price unfortunately for me does mean that although I would prefer these over sugar laden sweets, because licorice is great for the digestive system, they are a treat here too. I would like to be able to purchase them to have at home all the time, but it is more of a monthly treat item on the grocery list. But in saying that, that is also ok too, because too much of a good thing can be a bad thing in the end right?

The medley is a soft easy to eat licorice in different shapes. some days I prefer the twist, others I like the flat log. What I do find interesting though is at times the different shapes seem to give a slight difference in flavour even though they are all made from the same recipe. I though that this was just my mind playing tricks on me, until one days my son said 'no thank you, the ones left are to strong for me, I prefer the twisty ones'...hmmmm so his mind plays tricks on him too hahaha

Another thing to note is, if you are an older person, and remember nana or grandad offering you licorice as a youngster, then this is the stuff for you! The recipe is the same: the same texture and flavour that we all remember from our childhood so you just can not go wrong.

These are my Father in laws favourite, and we often buy them for him. The bag was on the bench and the family dove in, and all enjoyed them. They taste like licorice used to be like strong flavour and a soft texture. The bag was a good size for the price, and there was a variety of shapes to keep everyone, ok almost everyone happy, I must say I like the skinny licorice and they were not available in this size, but I wasn't upset for long - the taste and texture of the licorice was very enjoyable, even without skinny pieces.

They were very more'ish and as a parent I didn't really mind the children going back for seconds or thirds of these as they are a 'healthy' alternative to sweets, good for the digestive system, and not full of chemicals and artificial flavouring I have to say I was quietly happy with my children's consumption of them.

Hubby has requested these go on the shopping list, for him they remind him of time with his family, and his childhood, which tells me the taste hasn't altered over the years, which is something that can often happen as time goes by. I think these are a great traditional product and something that my family will continue to buy both for my Father in law, and now for our family to enjoy. I'm even tempted to drag out my old woman's weekly birthday cake book and create the train, that has all the licorice around it, as then I'd have to buy another packet!

I've grown up eating RJ's licorice, it was a firm favourite of my fathers and he always had a bag, or two, or three, lying around the house and it was always a god day when he would let me have a piece or two out of his packets. I haven't had any of this brand recently (I had become attached to Dutch licorice) so was pleased to get this to review, as were my two girls who both love licorice. With 450 grams of licorice, this is a good amount for the price of $6.99 and that's it's New Zealand made is a huge bonus.


My youngest would have wolfed this all down on her own if I'd given her the opportunity, I actually had to hide the bag from her to ensure that she wouldn't eat the whole lot, she decided that it was very yummy and didn't have too much sugar. My other daughter gave it two thumbs up, saying it was yummy, super awesome and very yummy, so I know it was a hit with her too. I gave my mum some and her response was that it reminds her of how licorice was when she was a kid. I enjoyed it and liked letting it sit in my mouth for a little, though did find that the longer I did this the more it seemed to stick in my throat, so it was a juggle, but worth it for the taste.

This was a hit with four out of the five of us, so I can see us getting this again.

RJ's Licorice Medley - well you can't get much better than a true New Zealand family brand and that the quality of their products is consistently high. Licorice is a favourite in this home and has to be hidden from the husband at night or else he gets into it and only two single pieces are left in the morning (for the children to enjoy when they are allowed it).

The package is sized at 450g which is just right to enjoy while it is fresh without having to overindulge. The actual package itself is easiest to get into with a pair of scissors - I guess to keep the freshness in and the licorice so soft and fresh it has to be sealed well! The flavor was of aniseed but not overpowering or flavourless - just right. There were the various shapes which everyone in this home has their favourite to claim - although I find they all taste the same.

We love to have licorice on car trips - easy to enjoy without a sticky mess and it helps keep things regular (if you know what I mean) so RJ's is a must and going forward this is going to be one of our choices out of all the various options they offer.

I am a bit of a licorice lover and like to always have a little stash in the cupboard of the RJ's chocolate logs so it was great to be able to try RJ's licorice medley.

Firstly the bag is huge at 450 grams its a lot of licorice. I am the only licorice eater in the house so I was mindful that this is a lot of sugar for one person and have tried to restrict myself to only a piece or two a night. At $6.99 a bag this is actually a really good price and great value for money. I love that this product is made in New Zealand as well. The bag was a little difficult to open and without scissors to neatly cut across the top I ended up destroying the bag. The bags aren't resealable and for a 450 Gram bag it would be good if it was as I had to find a couple of ant proof containers to store this in. That would be my only complaint re the packaging.

I loved the taste and texture of this licorice. Its quite soft ,unlike some brands which are almost plastic in their texture (and taste), this is very sweet and there is a definite molasses flavor. I really liked this and am slowly getting through my stash. The size of the pieces is perfect though would also be fine if they were a bit smaller as well as I did occasionally find myself cutting pieces into half (though the halves didn't last long!). I liked the three types and if you were using these for cake decorating its great to have some options for variety. If you like RJ's other types of licorice then you will love this bag of Licorice medley and I would definitely recommend trying it.

I have to say I am not usually a fan of black licorice, however I have LOVED all of the RJ's products which I have tried before so I was willing to give this a go, If I happened to not enjoy it I knew that I would easily be able to give it it to my in-laws or my Mum who was staying with us for the week as they LOVE black licorice!

As soon as I arrived home with this licorice my Mum was excited and very keen to give it a try. We opened the bag up, and were most impressed by the quantity of licorice in the bag there was heaps, id say close to 60 pieces, something that is hard to come across in a bag of lollies these days. My Mum took a piece of each of the different shaped licorice pieces and I did the same, Miss 3 also insisted on doing the same! Biting into the RJ's licorice I must say I was rather impressed for a non black licorice fan this was seriously good! It wasn't hard and chewy, nor did it stick to my teeth like crazy! In fact it was quite the opposite, lovely soft licorice, just the right texture and with a very pleasant licorice taste, which didn't taste artificial and full of rubbish like many brands of black licorice I had tried in the past which have put me off licorice until now!

My Mum absolutely loved the licorice and said she is going to be buying more of it, which she has actually already done, claiming it to be "the best licorice she's had", Miss 3 much to my surprise also was a fan of the black licorice and has been enjoying a piece a day since we got the packet, my in laws loved it to after being introduced to it while visiting us one evening, and are definitely keen to buy more of it!

I decided to put half the pack of the licorice aside as I really wanted to try it out in another way other than as is, my initial plan was to try and use it for decorating cupcakes as animals or faces, something I have used licorice for in the past however, these pieces ended up a bit different in shape than I had expected so weren't really going to work for this, which was fine! As it meant I could try out plan B... ICE CREAM! Now this was rather an experiment on it's own as I had seen a recipe on line a while ago for licorice ice cream, but it is something I had never tasted before. I set up my ice cream maker and then prepared the ice cream as per instructions, when I heated the licorice I was rather surprised by how easy it was to melt, but even more surprised by the fact it changed to a very light brown colour when mixed with the cream and other ingredients. When it was close to liquid I decided to leave a few small chunks of licorice in it for a bit of texture. The end result ... delicious, a very tasty licorice flavoured ice cream that was lovely and creamy, best of all you only needed a little at a time as the taste of the licorice did become a little to much after a while!

Although I do still prefer the other fruit flavours of licorice in the RJ's range myself, this is something I would happily eat if offered it, and also something which I will be buying for licorice loving family member's to put in hampers as gifts for birthday's etc. A yummy, tasty product in lots of exciting shapes which make it fun to eat, if you like licorice you will love this, give it a try!

Another amazing RJ's product that I was very excited to try. Our household are huge licorice fans and in particular we love RJ's and all their amazing flavours that they come out with. I was interested to see what was so different to this licorice compared to other brands of black licorice. I found this to be so soft that I could literally sink my teeth into it and they slid right through it. I loved this as some other brands of licorice are rock hard and chewy, whereas this was soft and easy to eat.

The flavour was perfect in my opinion. It wasn't overly sweet but it wasn't bitter however it was very moreish. I liked that it wasn't your usual rounded rolled licorice there were three different shapes which is always good to change things up. The size was great it was easy to just grab a piece and pop it into my mouth and carry on doing what I was doing. Because it was easy bite sized pieces I found myself constantly grabbing a handful and munching away not realising how much I had consumed myself. This size would be great for popping in a snap lock bag and taking a small amount out in a handbag or keeping it tucked up in your work draw.

Again, like other RJ packaging I love the simplicity of it. The packing wasn't cluttered with pictures and/or words. it was nice and bold, colourful and I found it really eye catching. I think if you saw this in a supermarket aisle the packing would really jump out at you. The woven orange/yellow design on the top of the bag really grab your attention when you see it. I found the back quite hard to open. I tried to tear it but this didn't work, I tried to open it like you would do with chips and failed. I ended up having to get the scissors out and cut the bag open which was annoying as I had to hunt for them.

All in all great product, amazing flavour, eye catching packaging and I thought the price was really reasonable.

Oh I have enjoyed licorice for so many years, and good quality stuff is not easy to find any more. It's all aniseed flavoured gelatine and additives and preservatives and ingredients that would make a chemistry teacher uncomfortable. Then I get to try this and I fall in love with licorice all over again.

I have no teeth, and badly fitting dentures, so chewing is not the easiest thing for me, but this was so soft I could gum it without discomfort, and even just popping a piece in my cheek and letting it slowly dissolve over a few hours was wonderful. Really took the edge off the metallic taste some of the medication has. The chemo really messed up my sense of taste, but this still tastes really really good to me so it scores well. My apologies to anyone who tastes it differently, but I'm not reviewing your experiences eh.

Nice big bag with lots of licorice in it, very good price too. A little steeper than I could afford to eat this as often as I would like, but it's something that is well worth the treat if you can manage it. This bag, even shared with some of the nurses, is going to last me a good long while, but if you have good teeth, love licorice, and aren't in hospital with overbearing doctors who want you on a liquid diet only, then you may find this bag doesn't last very long at all - it's just that good! Thanks to KIWIreviews for the introduction to RJ's. I'm told they've been around for over 20 years, so I'm shocked I haven't come across them sooner.

So I love black licorice it has to be my favorite of all time I'm one of those people that like the black jellybeans that everyone else leaves behind so naturally I wanted to give RJ's licorice medley a go. The bag arrived and I really wanted to get into it but I tried other things first and thought I would leave this bag until I really wanted to sit down with the yummy black goodness. While I was in the kitchen cooking dinner I heard a bag rattle and next minute heard it open, yup the man had got into them, teach me for leaving them where he could see them, he is a black licorice fan just as much as me.

He struggled to open the bag so ended up using teeth and then the bag was weirdly opened, I had to remind him I needed to taste and eat them as well as I'm reviewing them I had to actually remove the bag away from him. I was preganat at the time of eating these but they were so good, on the back it says a serving size is 5 pieces, there is NO WAY you can stop at 5 pieces without putting the bag in the kitchen putting 5 pieces in a little container and putting the bag away, but know really is going to do that?

The flavour was what I was hoping for that yummy aniseed throughout the whole bag, it smelt so good and the licorice was nice and soft not hard like I have recently had. There was different shapes of it, not that I paid too much attention when you put your hand in the bag and put right into the mouth. I did stop to have a decent look at one point and there was a piece that had 3 pieces wrapped around each other that I sat there and pulled apart. Like all other licorice, eating too much can have you sitting on the toilet but that wasn't going to stop me eating them, but I do understand the 5 pieces limit. After about 8 pieces our mouths felt a little funny and really needed to stop but really couldn't, in the end I had to put the bag away and leave it for a while before going back to it again.

However I would buy this one again, its soft, yummy and good for anyone to eat and the bonus for us is we don't have to share with the kids. The price is a little higher than I would like to pay for a bag of sweets, but on a special occasion I could do it. The bag was a bit hard to get into but that is minor, what I would really love to see is a ziplock seal on the bag so we can close it up and put it away for later on. Overall I love these and so did the partner.

I have always loved RJs licorice. I often buy their licorice logs as a treat at the supermarket. I also have fond memories of Mum using licorice straps and twists to help create fancy birthday cakes for us. I asked for RJs licorice medley to review with the plans of using it for decorating but unfortunately it wasn't suitable for this. The pieces were all a uniform length about 5cm and most were too thick to be used for decorating.

The medley had a few different shapes of licorice strips. Each piece was soft and full of flavour. It is the perfect taste. I made the mistake of purchasing cheap licorice recently and you can taste the quality in RJs and it is made here in New Zealand. With 450g of licorice the bag lasts a while but it is also dangerous to have it sitting next to you while watching TV. It is very tempting and disappears without you realising it.

My Mum is a huge licorice fan and I know she would love this. This would make a lovely addition to a gift hamper. I would love RJs to make a pack that is a mix of all their products. The allsorts, logs and original straps. This would be very popular at parties as there would be something for everyone.

My daughter was looking at my review items and came along this bag for Licorice Medley and told me there was a hole in the bag and could she have one. To be honest I am unsure if there was actually a hole there to begin with - but as I had been resisting for the whole day I let her pass the bag around so we could all trial. When it finally got to me I was a little surprised to find the whole side had been ripped open so I am guessing Little Miss four was being a tad devious, although secretly I was happy. The problem with Licorice is one piece is never enough and after taking a couple I had to put them in the fridge for safe keeping.

My girls seem to have super hearing as they can hear me open the fridge from anywhere in this house and they can definitely hear me putting my hand in the bag to sneak a piece to suck on, so if you are like me and no matter how quiet you plan on being I suggest tipping them into a bowl of some description as the bag is extremely noisy! Also I found the majority of licorice is stuck together so sneaking one piece usually ends up in grabbing at least six at a time, this is not necessarily a bad thing it is just harder to hide them all in your mouth.

I am surprised at how many are in the bag, as I have now been snacking on these heavenly licorice pieces for two days now and it still has not really reduced in quantity - which is great. I love the taste of licorice and I love sucking on them and as these are perfect mouth sizes they are ideal. They are a tad sweeter then the ones I usually buy but I am not complaining I just find I do not have to eat as many before I am content.

Growing up I remember mum bringing home licorice all sorts and/or buying straps from the diary and getting the boxes with different sizes and shapes. Although these are all basically the same length they have different patterns on them so it kinda feels the same. My girls are loving these and keep asking for them and I have to admit I am also enjoying them. For the price I can not complain and will continue to buy in the near future. All I can say is YUM.

My favourite relatives were always those who gave me money for birthday gifts - because that meant I could spend my cash any way I liked. When I was at primary school, I spent it on just two things - Science Fiction comics and licorice straps! Those were the days when the straps came unwrapped and the shop assistant would peel one off the display and hand it to you. No need for wrappers - and I don't recall ever getting sick from being served unwrapped sweets in a shop where there were no facilities for washing hands!

Times may have changed - people are very hygiene conscious these days and lollies come in sterile bags with the nutritional information listed on the outside right down to the kilojoule rating and the country of origin. But what has not changed is the basic quality of a product. I still appreciate a good licorice, and this assortment is as close to the originals of my youth as I have ever tasted. It has that raw molasses flavour that gives licorice its special character in combination with licorice extract and aniseed, and it is smooth enough to appeal to discerning adult palates!

I took it in to work, as I usually do when I have a large pack of lollies to review, and believe me, this packet is large. It is excellent value for money; after offering it round 20 people or so to get their reactions, I still have nearly half a packet left.

Reactions were overwhelmingly positive. One or two of the older people at my workplace thought it was too sweet, and one said it stuck to her teeth, but most were strongly in favour. They commented on the taste which was subtle at first and then developed into a stronger aftertaste so it was best if you waited a few minutes before eating a second piece. One man (who is American) said it was as good as the licorice he has tasted at home - not sure if that was a compliment for a New Zealand product or not, but I guess it was!

Licorice is great for sore throats and tummy upsets, and can be used as one of those "natural" medicines which can replace chemicals for some people. However, it is also high in sodium so, although I enjoy it, I have to be careful not to eat more than a couple of pieces at a time. Not a problem; it keeps well (it is in an airtight container so the ants can't get to it) and there is still enough left in the packet to last me for quite some time.

The RJ's Original Licorice Medley bag is 450g and includes three variations of licorice styles. It could be our imagine, but my family thought that each variation in style actually had a slightly different flavour. Perhaps we were looking for differences were there were none. Anyway, they all tasted like I would expect licorice to taste. The flavour of the aniseed does come through as expected and the kids thought that it tasted like black jelly beans. The pieces were nice and soft to eat too.

Apart from decorating cakes and biscuits, I had to have a bit of a think about what else I might do with such a big bag of licorice. The obvious answer was to just eat it of course. Eating it wasn't at all a problem. It was way too easy to keep popping my hand into the bag! I noticed that other family members were doing the same. I think that we went well over the serving size of 5 pieces!!

A quick Google search took me to a recipe for a licorice pudding (www.nigella.com/recipes/liquorice-pudding). It looked really good and I thought that it was something that we would enjoy. The recipe called for pure Italian licorice pellets and I assumed that the pellets would be much stronger than the RJ's licorice. We put in about ten pieces of RJ's into the recipe in place of the pellets. We did have to add extra water to help dissolve some of the licorice. They didn't melt completely, but they did form a kind of lumpy syrup with the water. This then meant that instead of being a smooth pudding, it had pieces of licorice in it. I think it was really nice like that and I didn't see it as a problem at all. The recipe gave the option of eating it cold or hot. We at it hot for pudding and I put some aside to try the next day when it was cooled in the fridge. Both ways were very nice, however it was particularly nice cold! I think the pudding is worth repeating. I do, however, think that I could have added a few more pieces of licorice for a stronger flavoured pudding.

It is great that RJ's is a Kiwi company and the products are made in New Zealand. I like the way that the map of New Zealand is included in the packaging. It makes it really stand out where the product is from.

I need no reminding to go out and buy RJ's licorice products. I often pick up different ones when I am at the supermarket and I have enjoyed this packet of the Licorice Medley just like I do all the other varieties in the range.