The History of Black Licorice

Black licorice is made from the root of a flowering shrub that thrives in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. One of the earliest mentions of licorice comes from the Greek physician Hippocrates, who wrote about his belief that consuming licorice could help treat ulcers and quench thirst around 400 BC. Alexander the Great gave licorice to his troops to keep their hydration levels up during long marches. And the ancient Egyptians even used licorice to make sweet drinks — stockpiles of licorice were even found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. (Interestingly, while licorice root is still linked to some benefits today, we also now know that consuming too much black licorice can have negative side effects on the body and certain groups are actually cautioned to avoid it.) Black licorice candy is thought to have been created in the English town of Pontefract in 1760 by a pharmacist who added sugar to a cough medicine containing licorice root to make it taste better. Soon black licorice candy became popular throughout England and reportedly spread to other countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands in the mid-1800s. Black licorice became especially popular in Scandinavia in the form of salmiakki, a salted and deeply pungent version of the candy. Licorice also became popular in France, where Cachou Lajaunie pastels are still often used like breath mints after a meal. Sweden even holds a licorice festival each year! In the United States, “red licorice” (which incidentally is not really licorice at all) is more popular than the traditional black variety, but the popular brands Twizzlers and Red Vines both make black licorice versions of their famous licorice candy twists. Today, black licorice has been gaining popularity in many parts of the world and a variety of brands offer natural or black licorice candies.