Parma Violets are a British
violet-flavoured
tabletconfectionery manufactured by the
Derbyshire company
Swizzels Matlow,[1] named after the
Parma violet variety of the flower. The sweets are hard,
biconcave disc-shaped sweets, similar to the Fizzers product from the same company but without their
fizziness. Swizzels Matlow have also released a line of Giant Parma Violets.
The petals of violets have long been used in
herbalism for their medicinal properties, even mentioned by
Dioscorides.[3] "Violet tables", sugary
lozenges flavoured with violets, were made before 1620.[4] During the 18th century, crushed violet petals, rosewater, and sugar were combined to make an early type of confectionery known as flower pastry.[5] These could be used for flavouring a cake, or moulded into pastils and eaten as sweets.[6] In the
Edwardian era, violet-flavoured chocolate and liquor were used to relieve sickness.[7]
Description
Parma Violets were created in 1946[8] by the
Derbyshire company
Swizzels Matlow.[1][9] They are sweets that are hard, biconcave discs, based on similar
aniseed confectionery traditionally consumed in India after a spicy meal.[10] Their flavour has been described as sweet with a soapy or floral taste.[8][11] The current recipe includes sugar, stearic acid, modified starch, glucose syrup, and anthocyanin.[2]
In 2016, Swizzels Matlow released a special Parma Violets flavoured cheese, produced by the Cheshire Cheese Company to celebrate their 70th birthday.[8] Cocktails that replicate the flavour of the confectionery are also available in some UK bars.[12] In 2019, Somerset cider company
Brothers Cider launched a Parma Violet-flavoured cider.[13] Also, large bags of Parma Violets can be purchased from the official website in sizes up to 3kg[14] alongside other online retailers.
The name of the British
Indie pop band
Palma Violets is derived from the Matlows confectionery. Irish singer Naomi Hamilton also released an album in 2016 named after the sweet.[16][17]
^Font Quer, Pio (1995). Plantas Medicinales; el Dioscórides Renovado (in Spanish) (15th ed.). Barcelona: Editorial Labor S.A. pp. 288–289.
ISBN84-335-6151-0.