Homemade Black Licorice Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient gives black licorice its flavor? ›

Traditional black licorice flavor comes from a chemical called glycyrrhizin, which is 50 times sweeter than cane sugar. "It's quite potent-smelling," Newton-Cheh said. And it can do much more than add flavor. Eaten in large amounts, black licorice can lower the body's potassium levels – significantly.

How Is Black Licorice Made? Licorice manufacture begins by making a batch of licorice paste typically with liquorice extract, sugar, a binder, starch or flour, gum arabic, flavoring, ammonium chloride, molasses, and gelatin.

Eating more than 57g (2 ounces) of black liquorice a day for at least 2 weeks could lead to potentially serious health problems, such as an increase in blood pressure and an irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia).

Glycyrrhizin (Figure 1), a triterpenoid compound, accounts for the sweet taste of licorice root and represents a mixture of potassium–calcium–magnesium salts of glycyrrhizic acid.

There is not a specific “safe” amount, but people with high blood pressure or heart or kidney disease should avoid black licorice, which could worsen these conditions. For people over 40, the FDA says that more than two ounces a day for two weeks may be problematic and cause irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmia.

Flavor profile: When crushed between your fingers, anise seeds smell sweet, mildly fruity, and then like licorice candy. If you pop a tiny anise seed in your mouth and bite it between your front teeth, you get an immediate hit of black licorice candy flavor.

Other candies of similar form use the name as well, but are not actually flavored with licorice extract." For those of us who much prefer eating the red kind, apparently that's actually the fake version of licorice. "Black licorice candy is flavored with the extract of the licorice plant," Jaffe revealed.

The sense of taste is genetic, so when someone complains that black licorice is too bitter, they're tasting the glycyrrhizin, the compound in licorice root that's chemically similar to saccharin. This may be why they taste the bitterness.

Some theorize that glycyrrhiza glabra (an evil villain name if I ever saw one), the compound that gives fennel, black licorice, and anise their characteristically horrifying taste, is chemically similar to that of artificial sweeteners.

Yes, the original TWIZZLERS Twists are licorice because they include licorice extract. However, the most popular flavors like strawberry or cherry do not include licorice extract, so they are often referred to as licorice type candy. Are TWIZZLERS Twists a healthy snack?

Who makes the best black licorice in the world? ›

Red Licorice vs.

WINNER: Red licorice. Many people assume that black licorice root can alleviate health issues. This hasn't been proven, but eating large quantities of black licorice may be dangerous to people 40 and older because a compound in it has been linked to heart problems, according to the FDA.

It's popular in these natural non-pharmacological therapies because licorice contains a lot of potentially healthy components, including ones that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, anticancer, hepatoprotective (protects the liver), and neuroprotective (prevents nerve cell death) properties.

People who regularly take large amounts of licorice, more than 20 g/day, may raise blood levels of the hormone aldosterone, which can cause serious side effects, including headache, high blood pressure, and heart problems.

The most commonly known licorice-tasting drinks are Ouzo, Sambuca, Pastis, Pernod and Absinthe. Others include Arak, Anisette/Anis, Raki, Aguardiente and Xtabentun. Read on for details of the anise-flavored booze we tasted, and the menu.

In a 2012 story for NBC News, writer Meghan Holohan tried to get to the bottom of what makes licorice so polarizing. The anise-y flavor comes from the root of the Glycyrrhiza glabra plant, and you'll find its pungent essence in various products, from Jägermeister to NyQuil.

Fennel is a vegetable that is either loved or hated. The lovers out there will appreciate its crunchy, celery-like texture and its unique licorice-y, anise-y flavor. The haters may appreciate fennel more in its cooked form.

Glycyrrhiza glabra, or Licorice is a flowering, herbaceous perennial legume native to Europe, parts of Asia, and most of North America, but not to the Southeastern United States. Its roots produce an intensely sweet compound used in teas and candies.