Liquorice

• 1. Introduction

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  Liquorice, spelled licorice in the United States, is the name for the root of a bean-family plant called Glycyrrhiza glabra. Dig it up, and you find something that tastes sweeter than sugar. It also tastes different from sugar, and people have found plenty of uses for that difference. Yet the same root comes with advice about how much of it a person should eat. This documentary follows one plant through several worlds. Why does its name mean what it does? What makes its sweetness behave so strangely on the tongue? Why do some countries pair it with salt, others drink it chilled, and tobacco makers still reach for it? And why do health authorities speak about it with so much care?

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• 2. Smooth Plant, Sweet Root

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  The Greek word γλυκύρριζα, literally 'sweet root', is where the plant's scientific name begins. Late Latin reshaped it into liquiritia, and Anglo-French passed it along as lycorys, which became the English word. The spelling was also pulled toward the Latin verb liquere, 'to become fluid'. That verb reflects how the sweet component is extracted from the roots. The second half of the botanical name, glabra, means smooth and refers to the plant's smooth husks. As of 2021, most of the Commonwealth writes liquorice, while other countries write licorice.

  The plant itself is an herbaceous perennial legume, growing to about one metre in height. Its pinnate leaves run roughly 7 to 15 centimetres long and carry between 9 and 17 leaflets. The flowers range from purple to pale whitish blue and sit in a loose cluster. After flowering comes an oblong pod holding several seeds. Below ground, the roots are stoloniferous. The species is native to West Asia, Tropical Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe.

  Well-drained soil in deep, sunny valleys suits liquorice best. Growers wait two to three years after planting, then harvest in the autumn. Turkey, Greece, Iran, and Iraq are among the countries that produce it. What comes out of the ground is a yellow root, and its colour has a chemical explanation.

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• 3. Inside the Root

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  Flavonoids give the liquorice root its yellow colour. Alongside them, the root holds triterpenoids, polyphenols, and polysaccharides. The principal glycoside, glycyrrhizin, makes up 7 to 10 percent of the root, and the exact share depends on cultivation practices.

  Glycyrrhizin is responsible for much of the sweetness, and it is 30 to 50 times as sweet as sugar. The sweetness arrives differently, though. It is less instant than sugar, a little tart, and it lingers longer on the palate.

  The smell of the root has its own chemistry. It comes from a complex and variable mix of compounds, and anethole accounts for about 3 percent of the total volatiles.

  Two further compounds, the isoflavene glabrene and the isoflavane glabridin, are phytoestrogens. A slow, lasting sweetness with a distinctive aroma was exactly what confectioners in Yorkshire and the Netherlands would build whole sweets around.

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• 4. Sweets of the North

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  Pontefract in Yorkshire is the town where liquorice first met sugar in the way most people now know it as a sweet. Pontefract cakes were originally made there. Across Cumbria, County Durham, Yorkshire, and Lancashire, liquorice is colloquially called 'Spanish'. The supposed reason is that Spanish monks grew the root at Rievaulx Abbey near Thirsk.

  Before that, there was the plain stick. Dried sticks of liquorice root were a traditional treat in the Netherlands, sold as zoethout, 'sweet wood', to chew on. Britain once had the same habit.

  In the Netherlands, liquorice confectionery is called drop, and it is sold in many forms. Makers often mix it with mint, menthol, aniseed, or laurel. Another common partner is ammonium chloride, known as salmiak. Salmiak liquorice is called zoute drop, or 'salty liquorice'.

  Strong, salty sweets are also eaten in the Nordic countries. Liquorice-flavoured alcohols are sold there too, particularly in Denmark and Finland.

  Much of the world's liquorice candy contains very little actual liquorice, because aniseed oil reinforces the taste. Further south, the root appears with no sugar at all.

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• 5. Southern Shores

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  In Italy, Spain, and France, people use liquorice in its natural form. The root is harvested, washed, dried, and chewed as a mouth freshener.

  Throughout Italy, unsweetened liquorice also comes as small black pieces made from 100 percent pure extract. Calabria turns the pure extract into a liqueur. In Reggio Emilia, a soft drink called acqua d'orcio is made from it.

  In parts of the Arab world, including Egypt and the Levant, the root becomes a cold drink named Erk al-sous. Its taste is sweet and mildly bitter. It is especially popular during Ramadan.

  In Diyarbakır and other parts of southeastern Turkey, liquorice root is traditionally made into a chilled drink. People there drink it most often in summer.

  In a cigarette factory, the same extract serves a very different purpose.

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• 6. The Tobacco Connection

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  Manufacturers use liquorice as a flavouring in American blend cigarettes, moist snuff, chewing tobacco, and pipe tobacco. It works both as a flavour enhancer and as a moistening agent. The root gives these products a natural sweetness and a distinctive flavour. That flavour blends readily with the natural and imitation flavourings that the tobacco industry already employs.

  In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration banned any 'characterizing flavors' other than menthol from cigarettes. The ban did not cover other manufactured tobacco products.

  Liquorice can also be added to cigarette rolling papers.

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• 7. Medicine and Mould

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  In traditional Chinese medicine, a related species called G. uralensis is often translated as 'liquorice'. Its name there is gancao, written 甘草, meaning 'sweet grass'. It is believed to 'harmonize' the ingredients in a formula. No high-quality clinical research shows that it is safe or effective for any medicinal purpose. The European Medicines Agency, whose name the source spells as European Medical Agency, has nonetheless added liquorice to its list of herbal medicine.

  Modern laboratories have looked at glycyrrhizin for hepatitis C and for topical treatment of psoriasis. As of 2017, the low quality of the studies prevented any conclusion about efficacy or safety.

  The essential oils of the plant also inhibit the growth of Aspergillus flavus, a fungus. Whatever the root can do, the dose decides how safe it is.

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• 8. The Daily Limit

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  Some jurisdictions suggest no more than 100 to 200 milligrams of glycyrrhizin per day. That equals about 70 to 150 grams of liquorice confectionery. The United States Food and Drug Administration regards liquorice and its derivatives, including glycyrrhizin, as generally recognized as safe for use as a food ingredient. The condition is that they are not consumed excessively. Above 0.2 milligrams per kilogram per day, glycyrrhizin can cause serious side effects. One estimate says a normal healthy person can consume 10 milligrams of glycyrrhizic acid per day. Because extracts vary so widely between products, there is not enough scientific information to pin down one intake as safe or unsafe.

  The chief worry is the effect on potassium and blood pressure. Liquorice can lower potassium in the blood and raise blood pressure. That matters most for people with hypertension or heart or kidney disease. In studies, 50 to 200 grams a day over four weeks appeared to raise blood pressure. The cause seems to be glycyrrhizic acid, at 75 to 540 milligrams of glycyrrhetinic acid per day.

  The mechanism is corticosteroid in nature. Glycyrrhizin and enoxolone, the chief active constituents, inhibit the breakdown of cortisol. In apparent mineralocorticoid excess syndrome, the body retains sodium and loses potassium. Aldosterone levels may rise, the renin-angiotensin system may decline, and atrial natriuretic hormone may increase. Reported effects include oedema, weight gain, heart problems, fatigue, shortness of breath, kidney failure, and paralysis. In clinical settings, overindulgence may show up as unexplained hypertension, low potassium called hypokalemia, and muscle weakness.

  Pregnancy carries its own caution. About 250 grams of liquorice extract per week has been linked with premature birth and health problems in children. One piece of advice puts the distinction bluntly: 'Liquorice is safe to eat. But you should avoid liquorice root.'

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