History, Uses and Health Benefits of Licorice
Some Sweet Licorice Facts & Figures
Aug 19, 2009 Karin Engelbrecht
There are two kinds of people – those who love the sweetly aromatic flavour of licorice and those who don’t. Either way, this extract of the woody licorice root, native to Europe and Asia, has been around since ancient times. And, it seems, has put down its roots to stay.
Licorice Health Benefits
Licorice (also known as liquorice) was first employed as a medicine. The Romans and Greeks used it in cough syrups and to aid digestion, while it has featured in Indian Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Licorice root was even found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. It’s still used in cough medicines today, acting as a mucus loosener. Scientists have since discovered many other applications. Liquorice helps to treat lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and irritable bowl syndrome. It also acts as a mild laxative and can be used as a topical antiviral medicine.
Licorice Production
The barky roots of the Glycyrrhiza glabra plant are harvested in the autumn, after which the roots are dried, ground and boiled. The pulp is then filtered, concentrated and poured into moulds to dry. The final product is called block liquorice, which is sold to manufacturers like tobacco companies (who use it to flavour tobacco), pharmaceutical companies and food and beverage makers, for further processing.
Old Fashioned Candy
The fact that it tastes good, sooths the throat and helps to treat mouth ulcers, meant that the leap from medicine to sweets was a natural one. In fact, the word licorice is derived from the Ancient Greek for ‘sweet root’, and licorice contains a substance, called glycyrrhizin that is 50 times sweeter than sugar. English monks at the Pontefract Abbey in Yorkshire were the first to make black licorice sweets. Today, the town of Pontefract hosts an annual liquorice festival in July, dedicated to this old fashioned candy, where you can sample licorice ice-cream, licorice bread and even licorice beer, believe it or not.
Licorice Sweets
Licorice is used in a wide variety of sweets around the world. The Italians prefer the intensity of 100% pure licorice extract, sold in small black pellets, while Spanish people like to chew on the woody licorice root as a breath freshener.
We all know of British Liquorice Allsorts and sweet black licorice sticks, of course, but have you heard of salty licorice? It’s popular in the Netherlands, Northern Germany and the Nordic countries, believe it or not.
Dutch Licorice
The Dutch love licorice, or as they call it, drop, with the highest per capita consumption of licorice in the world (an amazing 2 kg per person per year) giving the Dutch drop market a total value of Euro 150 million. You can find drop in all shapes and sizes in Holland, and in sweet and salty varieties, sometimes flavoured with menthol, bay leaf, or honey.The lingering perception that licorice is medicinal means that some Dutch parents regularly give their children licorice in lieu of candy, while licorice actually contains large quantities of sugar and salt.
Licorice Tea
Licorice root is also used in herbal teas and soft drinks, e.g. the Egyptian Erk-soos, while licorice flavoured aperitifs are popular all over the Mediterranean. The French are proud of their Pastis, the Italians salivate over Sambuca, the Greeks adore Ouzo, and the Spanish savour their Anis Seco. These aperitifs were traditionally made with licorice root, anise oil and herbs, but many now use (cheaper) fennel instead. In fact, anethol, the substance that gives licorice its distinctive taste can also be found in anise, fennel, dill, tarragon and star anise.
With its wide range of applications all over the world, for everything from medicines, to sweets, breath fresheners and beverages, licorice is rather versatile. Not bad for a simple piece of woody root is it?
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