For the Love of Licorice: 60 Licorice-Inspired Candies, Desserts, Meals, and More
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About this ebook
Along with recipes, this book also provides facts about the world’s most delicious root and what it can be used for:
raw licorice
licorice granules
licorice powder
and salty licorice.
It’s interesting reading that proves licorice not only tastes good, but that it’s also good for you!
Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Good Books and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of cookbooks, including books on juicing, grilling, baking, frying, home brewing and winemaking, slow cookers, and cast iron cooking. We’ve been successful with books on gluten-free cooking, vegetarian and vegan cooking, paleo, raw foods, and more. Our list includes French cooking, Swedish cooking, Austrian and German cooking, Cajun cooking, as well as books on jerky, canning and preserving, peanut butter, meatballs, oil and vinegar, bone broth, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
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For the Love of Licorice - Elisabeth Johansson
LICORICE (GLYCYRRHIZA)
The licorice root’s Greek name, Glycyrhiza is a combination of the words glycy, sweet, and rhiza, which are all roots. In English, licorice, licorice root, sweet wood, and sweet licorice are common terms. The British spelling is liquorice, while in American English it is spelled licorice. In Swedish, it’s lakrits.
Licorice is made from the root of a bush-like perennial herb that is part of the legume family. It has a branched stem, scalloped leaves, and mauve flowers that grow in bundles where the leafstalk and the stem meet. The fruit itself is a maroon pod.
The licorice plant can grow anywhere along the same latitude, but grows mostly in the Mediterranean region, including Italy, France, and Spain. It can also be found in Russia, China, Iran and other parts of the Middle East, Egypt, and some parts of North America and Australia. Some of the licorice roots used in production today grow in the wild, but commercial licorice is grown in Western Europe.
It is said that the best licorice can be found in Calabria, Italy, where licorice has been cultivated since the eighteenth century. In Calabria, you can enjoy a cup of coffee flavored with licorice and have a scoop of licorice ice cream on the side! Iran is also a major licorice-producing county.
Some Species of Licorice:
Glycyrrhiza glabra is the most common licorice root in Scandinavia and Europe. It grows in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia.
Glycyrrhiza acanthocarpa grows in Australia.
Glycyrrhiza lepidota grows in North America.
Glycyrrhiza uralensis grows in China and western Asia.
Glycyrrhiza inflata grows in China and Asia.
Glycyrrhiza echinata grows in Russia.
The Twin Flavors of Licorice
There is a distinct taste of licorice in anise and star anise. Although these plants are not related to licorice, they do contain similar substances. In anise and star anise, the substance anethole is what reminds us of the sweetness of licorice. Fresh fennel also tastes a bit like licorice, but that flavor disappears if the fennel is heated.
Herbs like chervil and tarragon also taste of licorice—the latter a bit more. This is said to be caused by the substance estragole. In licorice, the glycosine glycyrrhizin causes the special flavor. Because the taste of the glycyrrhizin lingers, it’s difficult to find a complementary beverage to pair with it.
REFINED LICORICE PRODUCTS
Licorice is the raw material. Listed below are the refined products made from it. Use the whole licorice root for cooking if possible. Let it boil in stews or similar dishes, just as you would with bay leaves.
Licorice roots from different areas also look different. To the left are roots from Iran. To the right are the maroon roots from Italy.
Ground licorice root is a bright yellow powder made from dried, ground licorice roots without additives. The powder has a mild, natural, sweet licorice flavor and goes well with fish, seafood, pastries, and desserts.
Raw licorice in sticks, blocks, or diced is hard, one hundred percent raw licorice. It can be grated or crushed and then used for flavoring hot dishes, desserts, and candy.
Liquid licorice extract may contain food coloring, preservatives, and flavor enhancers, like anise. It’s used for confectioneries, ice cream, desserts, and pastries.
Raw licorice pastilles are mostly consumed as the candy they are, but they can also be crushed and used for flavoring pastries and hot dishes.
Licorice granules are made by grinding or crushing sticks or blocks of raw licorice. Granules are used for foods, desserts, ice cream, candy, and pastries.
Licorice powder is made by spray-drying the licorice mass. It becomes a fine brown powder that is easily soluble. It may contain malt sugar and works well in desserts, ice cream, candy, and pastries.
Salty licorice powder is licorice powder mixed with salmiak salt. Used for desserts, ice cream, candy, and pastries.
A LICORICE VOYAGE TO CALABRIA
In order to experience the origin of licorice and understand the processing of raw licorice from the start, I traveled to the Amarelli licorice factory. The factory is located in the village of Rossano in southern Italy. Amarelli has a long tradition of licorice production and has been making raw licorice for nearly 300 years!
There, in the Calabria region along the coast of the Ionian Sea, licorice grows in the wild. It often grows along the beaches or between fields, but sometimes it even grows between the paving stones!
About forty years ago there were approximately eighty large and medium licorice factories in the region, but today only two large factories remain: Amarelli and Naturmed.
In Italy, licorice is primarily consumed as a candy, but it’s also used as a flavoring for grappa, ice cream, and coffee, among other things.
Visiting the Amarelli Licorice Factory Upon my arrival at the factory, I found heaps and heaps of licorice roots, some up to nine yards long. Amarelli buys the roots from neighboring farmers who grow their own and also harvest wild roots. Pulling up the roots is hard work and must be done with a tractor.
When the licorice roots arrive at the factory, they are washed and dried thoroughly. Then they are sorted by size, and the finer roots are cut into six-inch-long pieces. These pieces are then packed by hand.
Juice is extracted from the remaining roots. To extract the juice, the roots are chopped up and steam-boiled under pressure for three to four hours. The juice is boiled at 320° F until it turns into a viscous mass. The mass is then processed with large blades, which also adds oxygen to the mass. This makes the licorice oxidize and it becomes dark brown-black in color.
Next, the mass is pressed together into blocks or sticks. The sticks are cut into smaller pieces and left to dry with the blocks on big drying racks. Some of the mass is used to make licorice pastilles. Most of it is kept natural, but some is flavored, for example, with mint. When the pastilles are made they have a matte finish, but after going through a steam bath the finish turns nice and glossy.
I also visited Amarelli’s licorice museum, where you can learn about the factory’s fascinating history. Here you will also find a wonderful collection of documents and magazines about licorice