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PollDo you like licorice?
159 votes
Just like with truffles, I find that licorice is another contested and divisive flavor. You either love it, or you hate it.
I in fact, LOVE it. In fact I just finished the last bit of a small bag I had that lasted a bit more than a week. I can’t have licorice when I’m on medications, so I took the opportunity at least…
I’ve also been told that those who like licorice are more spiritually minded. Apparently licorice has a lot of homeopathic implications.
All of these options are lovely but salted licorice FTW. Even better if it's a bit peppery 😍
I'm biased of course because in my country licorice is considered a delicacy and we eat all forms of it since we can chew, basically. We have chocolate bars with licorice, ice cream with licorice, allll sorts of different licorice candies & hybrids (mixed with fruity flavours etc.)
All this to say, am a huge fan, bring it and I'll eat it all! 🖤
Today I learned there’s salted and peppered licorice! I don’t know how I’d like that. I’m used to associating the flavor with sweet
EDIT: also…what. They flavor it with ammonium chloride? Who decided this was okay? 😅
Lmao I know, if you eat too much of it the roof of your mouth literally becomes sore. The skin just kinda... comes off a bit (been there, done that, no shame) 😅
It's funny how we're so used to different things! For me it's strange to eat sweet licorice, but that's because we don't really have that. I only ever tasted it when I was already an adult and had a proper WTF reaction, of course :D
You ate so much that you gave yourself a chemical burn on the roof of your mouth 🫨 I am stunned 😅 I swear that can’t be healthy haha
Growing up, I actually hated sweet licorice. Little me wanted things that tasted more sweet, and less earthy. Now I love anything more earthy, including the licorice. I think having it as an ice cream flavor sounds interesting, as long as there’s no ammonium chloride lmaoo
Hey I said no shame lol! Jk, yeah it's certainly not healthy and you shouldn't eat it that much 😅 it's obviously very salty too, so can have negative health effects due to that as well. But my god I love the flavour!
I don't think there's ammonium chloride if it's in a type of candy or ice cream. The main flavour is salty and anis-y. If you ever get the chance to try, give it a go!
Ah so maybe I misread it. I guess it’s only on the spicy or sour candy?
Haha I’m not judging you, I swear, I’m judging who made it that way! 😅😆
I guess I have to go to Northern Europe to experience good licorice ice cream!
Oh no worries at all, I think I'm being unclear myself here! You're totally right that it's abnormal to give yourself a chemical burn like this lol!! Ammonium chloride (afaik) is only included in a couple of the spicier candies, generally it's just a salty anis flavour. I hope you get to taste that ice cream yourself some day!
Good thing I don’t like spicy things, I’m safe lmaoooo
Adding the ice cream to my bucket list’
Yeeees! Tyrkisk peber! How could I forget! It's great! They don't like it in Turkey, though... Tried...
I feel like we're from the same country... I hate liquorice :( and it's every fucking where!
Oh no! Yeah I bet it feels almost intrusive if you dislike it. I can definitely understand why people hate it. Am a cilantro-hater myself, so I can sympathize 🫂 Satan's grass always ruining a nice plate of food!
Are you from Northern Europe by any chance?
Yes :D
Me too! May I ask where from? Feel free to DM me if you don't want to share details here!
I have actively tried to like it over the years. Maybe if I tried a brand/type that is known as "the best", I would have more luck. I also think cilantro tastes like soap though, so maybe it's not meant to be. lol
When I was a kid, all the licorice nibs from Halloween went in my dad's lunchkit. To this day I don't know if he actually liked them or not, just that we wouldn't eat them lol
I used to hate those. Turns out they were way too sweet, even for me
Hate licorice. Don't care for licorice-adjacent flavors like anise or fennel. I do like some flavors that I've heard others describe as licorice-y like horehound and sassafras, but those taste more minty/herbal to me.
Red licorice just tastes like... red. Sweet, chewy, vaguely fruit but not really. There's not a distinct flavor to like or dislike. I don't know why we call it licorice at all.
I love black licorice! My friends used to tell me I have old lady tastes because I also like dark chocolate, pumpernickel and sauerkraut.
I too also like the following:
Black licorice, dark chocolate, grapefruit, white wine, truffles (the mushroom), sambuca, anise, fennel, black garlic, cilantro, old fashioned hard candies, and Irish soda bread (with the raisins). So I guess, old lady but adventurous? Lmao 😆
I sadly don’t like pumpernickel and can only tolerate sauerkraut in small amounts, yet I love pickles and most other pickled things like pickled radishes and seaweed. It turns out I just don’t like cabbage in any form haha
Sounds like we have the makings for an excellent picnic
Throw in some of the Pasta Queen’s lemon ricotta fusilli, and yes. Perfect excellent picnic!
Lemon ricotta fusilli sounds divine. I’d have to get a basket as big as I am to fit all that food in, but it would be so worth it!
I don’t even have a basket. It’s just a beautiful thought of the future. One day I will though, and be the romantic sap that I so desire to be.
Is this similar to the cilantro thing? I love cilantro but know people who absolutely hate it. I don’t like licorice but know people who love it.
Not to my knowledge no. Taste buds and palettes are genetic, but liking or disliking licorice is not linked to a specific gene that alters the taste like with cilantro
What the hell is red liquorice??? The only liquorice I've ever known is black!
And I really dislike black liquorice. The Finninsh is a bit better but still, yuck. But where I live everyone loves it, so it's a challenge trying to find candy or herbal tea without it...
These for the most part
But sometimes what makes it “red” is not chemical depending on which brand you get.
I was unaware that Twizzlers were licorice, I tried them once they were bland and tasteless as most American sweets are, I thought they were just sub par strawberry laces TBH.
Despite only the black Twizzlers containing extracts of the licorice plant, Twizzlers products are collectively referred to as licorice-type candy
OK that explains it :D it's not licorice, it's just called that. But it is not.
Yeah it’s one of those weird “it’s called that. But it’s not” kind of things haha
My grandfather, who was a big health person, used to give me licorice root sticks instead of candy. (But would let me eat Screaming Yellow Zonkers so what the heck 😁) As a result I developed a taste for black licorice. I wish I could find a natural version without food dyes but the ones I have found are not as tasty.
I love the non-GMO black licorice I’ve found. It’s without dyes and palm oil. (I incorrectly stated previously it was organic, but it being non-GMO is good at least.)
Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Also what a lovely memory to have with your grandfather. It seems the only true things I can find common ground with my father on is food. And in particular certain foods, like with your grandfather and licorice
I love black licorice, salted or sweet. I also LOVE mint and licorice tea.
Another fellow licorice lover! I love mint and licorice teas too
Is red licorice just cherry or strawberry flavored or is it something closer to the flavor of black licorice? I like Twizzlers lol
I think it’s close to strawberry flavored, or it’s just colored and not as strong as black licorice
I used to like twizzlers too
Black... Especially salty. But I also love the sweet Finnish and the salmiakki 😍 Junglevrål are great salty licorice.
I've never tried red. I'm a bit confused by it, because sometimes it sounds like it's just strawberry caramel?
Red licorice funnily enough, the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s a faux licorice that’s just dyed (in the states, we love our carcinogenic dyes 🥲) or if it’s natural, it’s just strawberry haha.
Another woman told me about the salty and peppery licorice! Apparently the salmiakki is …spicy pepper? From what I’ve read. The coating with ammonium chloride still has my mind swirling hahaha
Ah, so it really isn't licorice! Well, that's one confusion solved! I remember having some red hard candy when I was a kid in a bag of mixed licorice hard candies. I thought that was red licorice for a long while (didn't taste like licorice either, though), but then I started seeing red licorice referred to as soft and with strawberry taste. Total confusion.
Yes, that'd be Turkish Pepper. I loooove those! They have a core of really strong and spicy licorice powder. The hard licorice candy part of it is sweet, though. Salmiakki is also great. You can get it as those small pieces. I remember getting a salmiakki ice cream once. That was amazing! I should probably make some licorice ice cream soon 🤔 there's a recipe in my licorice cook book that I have never gotten around to try due to a lack of ice cream machine But now that I have one... 😁
Oh my! You never cease to amaze me with your lovely cookbook collection! I never thought there would have been such thing as a licorice cookbook.
I’d rather keep my sweet away from my savory. One of the few exceptions though is fennel, which has just the right amount of sweet licorice-like flavor that it doesn’t taste out of place with dinner
Where is the option for indifferent? It's not a common snack in my country so I don't buy it. I have tried it, though and it was alright - neither loved it nor hated it. I think I tried the black one, didn't know the red one has a different taste.
I like red licorice (I’m thinking like, red vines or twizzlers lol) but can’t stand black licorice 😭 Once I was at Ikea with my family and we decided to try the salty black licorice - I literally had to spit it out LMFAO luckily we were in the parking lot
Liquorice is the patchouli of flavourings and like patchouli I think the reason most people hate it is because its better used in a blend than on it own. There's a speciality doughnut shop where I live, and they have their own secret ingredient. I think its liquorice. They use it very sparingly, it sounds vile but it works.
Licorice in a donut would never be vile to me, that sounds delicious, and now I want a donut ..
Your description made me laugh with that comparison! Funnily enough I also love patchouli. Perhaps I’m a Jill of all Trades (Flavors) after all haha
It's possible they use one of the milder and sweeter variants of that flavour, like star anise, sweet cicily or actual licorice root, rather than the aniseed that flavours licorice.
I love licorice of all kinds, whether it's Twizzlers or salty Finnish licorice. I also like anise in desserts.
Oddly, though, I hate fennel, even though they're similar flavors. If it weren't for that, I'd be confused as to how anyone could dislike licorice. But as it is you licorice-haters have my (partial) sympathy.
This poll makes me want to get some black licorice :/ There are days I can eat a whole bag of it.
When you crave it, it is very hard to pace yourself
I like black licorice as a tea but not as a candy.
It’s very lovely as a tea. I like it as a candy more though
I quite like licorice in herbal tea. I really don't like the candy, even when it's well made.
I love fennel as a tea, as it’s not advised to have licorice root tea every day. I still love it occasionally though
Red licorice is fine. Black licorice is hit or miss. I'm fine with the Jelly Belly flavor, but some other types are a little too strong for me.
Is it weird that I hate licorice and love ouzo?
I was going to ask if anyone liked anise but not licorice. Maybe that counts.
Whats ouzo?
an alcoholic drink with anise smell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouzo
Oo I love anise, so I’d probably also like that.
Also in the same vein, I love the taste of black sambuca
I love black licorice and similar tastes, like anise. Unfortunately I can’t have black licorice because it raises blood pressure.
I love anise and fennel, which taste similarly but not as strong in my opinion. I didn’t know it could raise blood pressure
Like black and love red.
I grew up with twizzlers (if you count that as red licorice? 😅) way before finding out about red 40 🥲
It’s harder to find red licorice without dyes than it is to find black. And I like black licorice more so anyway
I've eaten black liquorice on occasion but not in a long time. If there was an option for "meh" that'd be my vote.
I've never even heard of red liquorice.
Red licorice is definitely more of an American thing now that I think of it. It seems like red licorice is just…dye? I guess I don’t know the true difference beyond that.
Funnily enough, my favorite licorice candy is Australian made
It's so long since I bought any I don't even remember the brand!
The brand of the red licorice, or the Australian brand?
I've never seen red liquorice, I don't know if it's sold here. No, I meant whatever brand of black liquorice I bought.
Oh, I gotcha now. Considering a lot of the labeled as “gourmet” (it’s only gourmet to me if it’s non GMO, and/or organic) branding of licorice here in the states in Australian, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a similar brand
I love mango "licorice". But I don't think it counts as licorice if it's not aniseed-flavoured. That stuff is gross.
Honestly I've never had licorice sweets I have no idea what they are like I keep meaning to try them because I have had licorice root and thats nice.
it looks like a twig you just chew it until the flavour goes, you don't swallow it, it really is like chewing on a piece of wood.