The Science of Spice

96 Spice Profiles

Region of cultivation

Liquorice is native to the Mediterranean region

and West Asia. It is cultivated mainly in Russia,

Spain, and the Middle East, but also in North

Africa, France, Italy, Turkey, North America,

India, and China.

The plant

Liquorice is a

herbaceous perennial

in the pea and bean

family, with rhizomes

that form a branched,

spreading network.

Whole

Dried liquorice

root can be bought

in slices or in pieces

of up to 20cm (8in)

long, and will store

almost indefinitely

in a sealed container

in a cool, dry place.

Bluish-purple

flowers produce

reddish-brown,

bristly seed pods

Rhizomes are

bright yellow and

pencil thick

Powder

The ground dried root is available in

various shades and in “fine” or “raw”

varieties, depending on plant variety and

how it was processed.

BOTANICAL NAME

Glycyrrhiza glabra

ALSO KNOWN AS

Sweetwood, Spanish

juice plant, jethimadh.

MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUND

Glycyrrhizin.

PARTS USED

Roots and rhizomes (underground stems).

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

Roots and rhizomes are harvested by digging

up the whole plant when it is 3–5 years old.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATION

The roots and rhizomes are cut off, cleaned

and trimmed, then dried for several months.

NON-CULINARY USES

Tobacco flavouring; ingredient of cough

medicines and lozenges; in traditional

medicine to treat inflammation, peptic

ulcers, and chest complaints.

SPAIN

NORTH

AFRICA

TURKEY

RUSSIA

FRANCE

ITALY

MIDDLE EAST

LIQUORICE

Sweet | Aniseedy | Warm

Ancient Assyrians, Babylonians,

Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans

all chewed liquorice to allay thirst,

freshen breath, and increase stamina.

The spice reached China, where it was

used as a stimulant and antidote to

poison, via the Silk Road over 2,000

years ago. By the 12th century,

liquorice extract was being widely

used in northern Europe, often

cultivated by monks and prescribed

for coughs, gastric ulcers, and chest

complaints. The first liquorice sweet

was made in 1760, and by the late

19th century sweets and liqueurs were

being manufactured across Europe,

particularly in Nordic countries. The

spice was also being used to flavour

tobacco, and today the majority of the

world’s crop is grown for this purpose.

Its use as a spice remains localized to

China, India, and Scandinavia.

Spice story

CHINA

INDIA

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