Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a flowering plant native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. Its root contains glycyrrhizin, a compound roughly 50 times sweeter than sucrose, which gives licorice its characteristic flavour.
The plant has been used for thousands of years across many cultures — in traditional Chinese medicine, in Middle Eastern cuisine, and in European confectionery. Today licorice root is used as a flavouring in sweets, beverages, tobacco products, and herbal teas. It should not be confused with anise or star anise, which share a similar flavour profile but come from entirely different plants.
How it's produced
Licorice is grown from root cuttings or divisions planted in deep, fertile soil. The plant takes three to five years to mature before the roots are large enough to harvest. Harvesting is destructive — the entire root system is dug up, washed, and dried.
Both wild-harvested and farmed licorice are commercially available. Wild harvesting remains common in parts of Central Asia and the Middle East, while cultivated crops are grown in Turkey, Iran, China, and southern Europe. After harvest, roots are typically dried and either sold whole, ground into powder, or processed into extract.
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