Liquorice - Dictionary

Acidifiers occur naturally in fruit. In the confectionery industry, they are used to lower the pH value in order to make it more difficult for microorganisms to multiply. Citric acid, lactic acid, potassium citrate and sodium tartrate are used in the production of liquorice.

Glycyrrhizin is a component of liquorice and gives liquorice its typical taste. The sweetness of glycyrrhizin is about 50 times higher than sugar. It relieves coughs, hoarseness and stomach complaints. Glycyrrhizin relieves coughs, hoarseness and stomach complaints, has anti-inflammatory, expectorant and thirst-quenching properties, but also stimulates blood pressure. Therefore, only recommended in moderation, approximately 100 mg/day, which corresponds to approximately 100 g of liquorice/day, depending on the strength of the liquorice.

Agar (E 406) is an extract from red algae and is used as a gelling and thickening agent, e.g. as a substitute for gelatine. Valued in Japanese cuisine for centuries, it also became known in Europe in the 19th century.

14 foods must be labelled as food allergy triggers. Three of these 14 allergens are contained in (some) liquorice recipes: peanuts, soy, milk.

Aniseed, Pimpinella anisum, is a spice and belongs to the umbellifer family. The medicinal plant alleviates stomach complaints. For this reason and because of its own taste, liquorice is often flavoured with aniseed oil.

The only region in Europe where liquorice is called Bear's Dirt or Oxblood is southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Probably because of the black colour. See also liquorice equator.

Beeswax is produced by honey bees when they build their honeycombs. It is tasteless and is used in the food industry as a coating agent. It gives the liquorice shine and delays drying out.

Liquorice can be stored for 12 months in a cool room, loose packed and mixed liquorice for 6 months. Liquorice does not spoil in the sense of being inedible. However, it loses its flavour over time and dries out. It is therefore recommended to decant the liquorice into a glass jar with a lid.

Carnauba wax is obtained from the Brazilian carnauba palm. A layer of wax covers the leaves, which is scraped off.

Carrageenan is a polysaccharide extracted from red algae. It is labelled E 407 in the food industry and used as a thickening and gelling agent, e.g. in puddings, ice cream, cream cheese and jams. The name comes from Irish. There, ‘carraigín’ was extracted from Irish moss in the 5th century.
(Source: Sugar Museum Berlin)

Food colouring Food colouring is used for optical colour processing. In the cooking process, the natural colours of the ingredients fade. Food colourings are neutral in taste. Approximately 40 food additives that are harmless to health are used in the food industry and must be labelled. In the case of liquorice, these are sugar caramel E151 (black colour), vegetable carbon E153 (black colour), curcumin E100 (yellow colour), carotene E160b (yellow colour), ammonia sugar caramel E150c (black colour), calcium carbonate E170 (white colour), carmine E120 (red colour).

The consistency of a liquorice recipe is determined by the cooking process. Whether it should be crunchy, soft or crumbly is determined by the temperature and the gelling agent used, such as gum arabic, gelatine, pectin, starch (corn, potato, rice, wheat).

George Dunhill was a pharmacist who lived in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, around 1760. His family grew liquorice. Dunhill is credited with inventing liquorice as a sweet. Until then, liquorice was only known as a medicine for humans and horses. By adding cane sugar and flour, he created the first spiced liquorice mixture, which was then processed into ‘Pontefract Cakes’.

E-numbers designate the additives that may be added to food in Europe. Additives are thickeners (consistency), colourings (appearance), emulsifiers (binding), preservatives (shelf life), flavourings (taste).

Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare, belongs to the umbellifer family and is used as a vegetable and medicinal plant. Fennel oil is extracted from bitter fennel and aids digestion.
Since fennel, like aniseed, contains anethole, fennel oil could be added to liquorice products as a flavouring or aroma and would have to be labelled as ‘fennel oil’ in the ingredients. However, aniseed oil is usually used in liquorice.

The addition of flavourings enhances the smell and|or taste of a foodstuff; they are subject to labelling under the Foodstuffs Ordinance. A natural flavouring may only be described as such if it consists of 95 percent natural substance.

Gelatine consists mainly of pork rinds and bones, which come from registered slaughterhouses and are boiled at high temperatures and purified several times during the production process. Gelatine is sold as powder or slices and is used as a water-soluble, tasteless thickening agent.

Gelling agents are used for consistency, they thicken a food. Gelling agents in liquorice production can be gum arabic, gelatine, pectin, flour (corn, rice, wheat, potato).

After drying in the manufacturing process, liquorice is coated with a glazing agent to prevent it from sticking together and to protect it from drying out. Glossing agents can be: Beeswax, carnauba wax, vegetable oils, shellac.

Gum arabic is a tree resin. To extract it, the trunk of the acacia tree is scratched and the resin that emerges is removed. In the confectionery industry, gum arabic from Sudan is preferred. Gum arabic is tasteless and is used as a thickening agent.

Humectants prevent the food from drying out. The use of glycerine, maltitol or sorbitol in liquorice production keeps the liquorice consistency smooth.

Liquorice, botanically Glycyrrhiza glabra, belongs to the legume and papilionaceous family. Only the roots of the liquorice plant are relevant for liquorice production.

Liquorice is a natural plant product of the liquorice root. Its black colour comes from the vegetable carbon dissolved in the cooking process. Pure liquorice tastes sweet-tart, bitter. The consistency is hard as candy.

Liquorice as a sweet is closely linked to the spread of sugar. The art of candying came from Persia; roots, leaves and fruit were soaked or coated in sugar, creating ‘confectionery’.

The extraction of sugar from the local beetroot made sugar affordable in this country in the middle of the 19th century. Cheap sugar made a wide variety of recipes possible. A new profession of ‘confectioner’ emerged in contrast to the pharmacist who sold medicinal herbs.

The liquorice root is a component of many herbal, stomach and cough teas because of its digestible effect. The glycyrrhizin it contains increases blood pressure. Liquorice has a thirst- and hunger-reducing effect.

Pane Liquirizia is the first stage of the product obtained from the liquorice root. The "liquorice bread" is produced as an extract in the cooking process. Boiling approx. 100 kg of liquorice roots yields 10 kg of pure liquorice, Pane Liquirizia. 

During pregnancy and breastfeeding, liquorice consumption should generally be reduced. Depending on the type of liquorice, the glycyrrhizin content varies from low in sweet-mild to high in pure liquorice. If you like to eat salty liquorice, there is also the blood pressure-increasing effect of salt and sal ammoniac on top. When eaten in moderation, liquorice can stimulate the circulation if blood pressure is low. But it can also affect the potassium balance and impair kidney function.
This is because, botanically speaking, liquorice is made from a plant drug, Glycyrrhizia glabra, which has properties and effects. It is best for pregnant liquorice monsters to discuss how these affect their particular body and condition with their accompanying doctor. Perhaps people in Scandinavia smile at the liquorice caution and in case of occasional cravings, 2-3 liquorices of medium strength are certainly ok.

A not entirely serious "border" that shows where liquorice is eaten in Germany and where not. If you draw a line from Bonn across the country, liquorice is eaten with pleasure above the line and not at all (with pleasure) below it, see Bear Dirt.

In Germany, liquorice may not contain more than 2 per cent salmiak (ammonium chloride) without a warning label. If the salmiak salt content in liquorice exceeds 2 to 4.49 per cent, the liquorice must be labelled as "adult liquorice – not suitable for children". "Extra strong adult liquorice – not suitable for children" applies to liquorice with a salt content of 4.49 to 7.99 per cent. 

The liquorice root is known worldwide and its properties have been described in all medical books since ancient times (800 BC), as well as in Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM for short.

Glycyrrhiza (Greek), Liquirizia (Italian), Reglisse (French), Regaliz (Spanish), Liquorice (English), Liquorice (German-speaking area), Drop (Dutch), Lakrits (Swedish), Lakrids (Danish), Lakris (Norwegian), Lakritsi (Finnish), Lakkris (Icelandic)

Glucose syrup, sugar, gelling agent, liquorice root extract (Pane Liquirizia), humectant, acidifier, flavouring, food colouring, glazing agent.

Liquorice, botanically Glycyrrhiza glabra, belongs to the legume and papilionaceous family. Only the roots of the liquorice plant are relevant for liquorice production.

Sweet or salty liquorice recipes are cooked. The main ingredient is glucose syrup. The addition of gelling agents, flavours and spices determine the taste and consistency of the respective liquorice variety.

The liquorice shrub prefers plus degrees in winter and also grows wild in France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Iraq.

Pectin is found in solid plant components such as stems, peels and leaves. When fruit is boiled down, gels or jelly are formed. In the food industry, pectin is used as a gelling agent.

In 1760, pharmacist George Dunhill added sugar and flour to medicinal liquorice. This resulted in the first liquorice dough and thus a liquorice recipe that could be flavoured and stamped. Embossing by hand with the stamp of the local Pontefract Castle served as a mark of quality. Among the traders of the 18th century, the pharmacist George Dunhill was the most important. By the end of the 19th century,
 demand for liquorice exceeded the supply capacity of the liquorice farmers in Pontefract. Succus liquiriziae was then imported, mostly from Turkey.

Liquorice is cooked. First, the Pane Liquirizia is extracted from the liquorice root, then the liquorice extract is processed with other ingredients to make a sweet or salty liquorice recipe, depending on taste.

Salmiak (ammonium chloride) is a rock salt. It is industrially produced for the food industry, a white sour-salty tasting fine granulate. A maximum of 7.99 percent salt is permitted in the recipe, this must be labelled as "Extra strong adult liquorice - not children's liquorice".

The salmiak pastille is the best-known salt lozenge in Germany. The small lozenges combine the smoothness for the throat of natural licorice with the anti-inflammatory effect of salmiak salt.

In northern Europe, people like to eat salty liquorice. Salt (sodium chloride), sea salt or salmiak salt is added to the liquorice. A maximum of 7.99 per cent salt is allowed in the recipe, this must be labelled as "Extra strong adult liquorice - no children's liquorice".

Shellac is a resin secreted by the scale insect after it has fed on the sap of certain trees (poplar fig, jujube) in India and Thailand. The resin that has become solid is cut off the bark.

Starch is a carbohydrate and complex sugar that occurs naturally in grains and potatoes.
Modified starches are chemically altered starches. They are obtained from starchy plants such as corn, potatoes or wheat. Unlike conventional starch, they are more stable in heat and cold, swell significantly better and distribute well in food. This makes them popular for industrial food production, including in the manufacture of liquorice.

In sugar-free liquorice recipes, sugar is replaced by sugar substitutes that taste sweet but are excreted by the body without being metabolised.