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what are musk sticks

Musk sticks are a classic Australian and New Zealand candy: semi-soft, usually pink fondant sticks with a strong floral, perfume-like “musk” flavour and aroma that people tend to either love or hate.

What are musk sticks?

  • They are confectionery made from a soft, sugary base (fondant or icing-sugar style mixture) shaped into sticks.
  • Most are light pink and extruded with a ridged, star-like cross-section, so they look a bit like thin, decorative bars or “toothpaste ropes.”
  • The key feature is their strong musk flavour: floral, sweet, and perfume-like, sometimes compared to scented talc, an old handbag, or even perfume itself.

A common description on forums is that they taste like “Jovan Musk perfume” or an “old lady’s purse,” which fans consider nostalgic and cosy, and haters find soapy or overpowering.

What are musk sticks made of?

Exact recipes vary by brand, but the core idea is a sugary, semi-soft candy flavoured with musk essence. Typical components include:

  • Sugar / icing sugar (the bulk of the candy)
  • A binding or structure agent
    • Fondant-style base (soft icing) or
    • Gelatin, glucose and icing sugar for a slightly chewy, dissolving texture
  • Musk essence (the flavouring)
  • Colouring (usually red or pink to give the familiar pastel pink)
  • Optional mild vanilla or similar flavour notes

A modern recipe example suggests gelatine sheets, liquid glucose, musk essence, vanilla, pink colouring and pure icing sugar, yielding a pipeable paste that sets into firm but slightly crumbly sticks.

Where do musk sticks come from?

  • Musk sticks are strongly associated with Australia (and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand) and are widely sold through local confectionery brands and supermarkets.
  • Their precise origin is unclear, but written references show they’ve been around for well over a century.
    • Early mentions note “rose and musk lozenges” in the late 1800s.
* A 1927 article in the Australian Worker referred to “pink curly musk sticks” that had already been sold for about 25 years, implying they were established by the early 1900s.

Over time they became a staple of Australian childhood lolly bags, school fetes and corner-shop treats, which is why so many locals link them with nostalgia.

Why are they so polarising?

Musk sticks sit right in the middle of a love–hate split:

  • Fans:
    • Love the nostalgia (childhood parties, grandma’s lolly jar, school tuck shop).
* Enjoy the delicate floral sweetness and soft, dissolving texture.
  • Critics:
    • Complain they taste like perfume, soap or cosmetics rather than food.
* Some international taste panels and novelty collections have even labelled them “revolting,” and they’ve appeared in a Swedish museum of unusual flavours in the “most revolting things to eat” category.

This split makes musk sticks a recurring “what on earth is that?” topic in forums, especially when non-Australians try them for the first time and react strongly.

Texture, taste and how people eat them

  • Texture: Semi-soft, crumbly yet chewy; they dissolve on the tongue somewhat like firm fondant or conversation hearts.
  • Flavour: Sweet, floral, with a powdery musk perfume note; not fruity or chocolatey at all.
  • Appearance: Fairy-pink cylinders or star-shaped sticks, sometimes twisted, often sold in clear bags.

Common ways people eat or use them:

  1. Straight from the bag as a lolly.
  2. Crumbled or chopped over ice cream or desserts for a floral candy crunch.
  3. Infused into baking (cookies, slices) using musk essence for a nostalgic flavour twist.
  1. As a playful “toy” candy: some Australians recall twisting softened sticks into sharp points to lightly poke friends, thanks to the dissolving, fondant-like texture.

Forum discussion and “trending topic” angle

Musk sticks periodically trend online when:

  • Non-Australians encounter them in taste-test videos or “weird foods from around the world,” sparking debate about whether they’re delicious or disgusting.
  • Forums and Q&A boards host threads titled things like “Musk Sticks!” or “What are musk sticks and why do they taste like perfume?”, where users describe them as pink Twizzlers that taste like perfume and argue over whether that’s amazing or awful.
  • Media or quirky museums rank them among the world’s strangest or “worst” candies, which Australians often defend with patriotic humour.

So while musk sticks themselves are an old-fashioned sweet, they keep popping up in modern social media and forum conversations as a cultural curiosity and taste-test dare.

Quick facts about musk sticks

  • Country association: Mainly Australia, also New Zealand.
  • Type: Semi-soft fondant/icing-based candy stick.
  • Colour: Usually pink.
  • Flavour: Floral, musk-perfume-like.
  • Age: At least early 1900s, possibly late 1800s roots.
  • Reputation: Deeply nostalgic to many locals, bizarre or “soapy” to many outsiders.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.