Liquorice. Lakrits. Lakrids. Something I hated as a child and the type of candy I love now. The black gold of the Nordics, and this time I’m not talking about coffee. Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, they’re all mad about liquorice. Almost everyone who had friends travelling to Denmark (oh remember those pre-Covid 19 times?!) probably got some Lakrids by Bülow as a travel gift. And while these differently flavoured chocolate covered liquorice balls are to die for, they’re just one of many kinds of liquorice that exist.
1. Where does Liquorice come from and how is it produced?
Although it’s the Nordic countries and The Netherlands where liquorice is consumed in largest amounts, the plant it’s made from grows in India, Iran, several Central Asian countries, and even in Italy. Liquorice is made from the roots of the liquorice plant, to be more precise from the extracted sap. The dried roots are crushed and boiled in water and the sap is then dried into a fine powder. You can even buy this powder for baking and cooking. Then, the powder is mixed with different ingredients like syrup and anise, starch or flour, then boiled until it forms into a sticky consistency that’s ready to be shaped into different shapes and sizes.
I’m not sure when it was that I started loving it. I remember though, when my affection for liquorice reached a whole new level. It was when I had just met my current, Swedish, boyfriend. On a visit back home, he brought me some small packs of different liquorice candy. I ripped open the first, yellow-red plastic bag to try the little monkey-shaped, white-coated kind of gummy bears. I stuffed three into my mouth and got weirdly surprised; the white coat wasn’t sugar, as I had assumed at first. It was salt. A salt-coated piece of squishy liquorice. While this sounds quite odd and somewhat disgusting, I immediately fell for it and a couple of moments later, had eaten half the package with sticky bits glued to my teeth. Quite fascinated about this new discovery, I brought the remaining half-pack to work the next day. Excited, I shared them with my friend Paddy, who, with an expression of disgust on his face immediately looked for the closest paper bin to spit them out. He obviously didn’t know what was good for him so I tried it on another friend, Peter from Denmark, who found it more enjoyable. Maybe everyone just needed to get used to the taste of liquorice? I also understand that salted candy in general is something people first have to get accustomed to.
2. Liquorice goes beyond candy
If you’re a frequent gin drinker, you’ve probably encountered liquorice already in one of your drinks. Not in the form of candy, but a liquorice stick that adds some sweetness and fragrant aromatics. Beyond that, I’ve seen cookies, ice cream, cakes and other sweet stuff, but also savoury dishes infused with liquorice. It’s great with cream, even with strawberries or for example mint, ginger or rhubarb. There are no limits to your imagination.
