Liquorice or licorice is the common name of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a flowering aromatic, and flavoring plant.
Let’s find out more about it!
- It is written as liquorice in the UK and licorice in the US.
- Licorice is the common name of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.
- The liquorice plant is an herbaceous perennial legume native to Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe
- Botanically, it is not closely related to anise or fennel, which are sources of similar flavouring compounds.
- Liquorice is used as a flavouring in candies and tobacco, particularly in some European and West Asian countries.
- Liquorice extracts have been used in herbalism and traditional medicine.
- Excessive consumption of liquorice (more than 2 mg/kg per day of pure glycyrrhizinic acid, a liquorice component) may result in adverse effects, such as hypokalemia, increased blood pressure, muscle weakness, and death.
- The word “liquorice” or “licorice”, via Anglo-French: lycorys, derived from late Latin: liquiritia,[10] and means “sweet root”.
- Modern Greek spelling of the genus is glykoriza. Pliny Latinized glykkyriza as glycyrrhiza, hence its binomial name.
- As of 2021, its English common name is spelled “liquorice” in most of the Commonwealth, but “licorice” in the United States
- The scent of liquorice root comes from a complex and variable combination of compounds, of which anethole is up to 3% of total volatiles.
- Much of the sweetness in liquorice comes from glycyrrhizin, which has a sweet taste, 30–50 times the sweetness of sugar.
- The sweetness is very different from sugar, being less instant, tart, and lasting longer.
- The isoflavene glabrene and the isoflavane glabridin, found in the roots of liquorice, are phytoestrogens.
- Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used licorice both as medicine and dessert.
- Industrial production of licorice candy started in the 18th century in England.
- Licorice has application in numerous industries today.
- Besides in the confectionery industry, licorice is used in the pharmaceutical and medical industry and in the industry of tobacco, alcoholic beverages and cosmetics.
- Licorice was used for the preparation of healing tonic in the Ancient Egypt. This beverage was popular among Egyptian rulers.
- Famous pharaoh Tutankhamen was buried with large quantities of licorice.
- Napoleone Bonaparte was big fan of licorice. Unfortunately, due to intense chewing of licorice, his teeth became black.
- Licorice produces bisexual flowers (they contain both types of reproductive organs) that bloom from June to July. They attract insects, main pollinators of this plant.
- Licorice produces light blue or lilac flowers arranged in the loose clusters composed of 10 or more individual flowers. Flowers grow from the axils of leaves.
- Licorice has pinnate leaves composed of 9 to 17 narrow lanceolate leaflets. Leaves are green colored and covered with sticky glands on the surfac
- Licorice has strong root system that consists of taproot, numerous lateral branches and stolons (runners).
- Licorice grows in the form of shrub.
- It has woody, hairy, upright stem that can reach 3 to 4 feet in height.
- Root is brown on the outside and yellow on
- Licorice is used as flavoring agent of tobacco and various types of beer and brandy
- Licorice is perennial plant which means that it can survive more than 2 years in the wild.
