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Licorice history spans continents and civilizations.
Archaeological evidence suggests its use goes back to ancient China, where it was mentioned in medical texts from 2800 BCE.
Ancient civilizations revered licorice root for its natural sweetness that eventually found its way into modern candy and medicinal properties, setting the stage for a long and storied history.
King Tutankhamun’s tomb is one of the most famous archaeological finds in history.
In 1922, archaeologists found 5,200 artifacts, including gold-covered chariots, a solid-gold mask, and licorice root.
Finding licorice in the tomb shows that licorice has a very ancient history going back possibly thousands of years.
Alexander the Great had his armies carry licorice root during military campaigns.
Supposably, the licorice helped his armies stay hydrated.
It’s also hypothesized that the root also helped in performance enhancement, which may have given his troops the needed boost to win all the battles that were won.
European monasteries cultivated and processed licorice in the Middle Ages.
Monks in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, were best known for cultivating high-quality licorice products.
These monks were the first to create modern licorice candy as we know it today.
Pontefract Cakes are the oldest branded name licorice candies created in 1641 by Sir George Savile.
They were known for stamping licorice discs with an image of Pontefract Castle.
Initially, the embossing of Pontefract Cakes was a manual process performed by skilled workers known as “cakers,” who could stamp up to 30,000 cakes a day.
The first ever licorice factory was started in 1731 in Calabria, Italy, by the Amarelli family.
It still remains operational to this day.
The factory not only produces traditional licorice but also plays a crucial role in preserving the historical methods of licorice production that date back to its establishment.
The “Victory V” lozenges were a type of licorice throat candy that was first manufactured in 1864.
The licorice lozenges contain ether and chlorodyne—a mixture of opium, cannabis, alcohol, and chloroform!
The lozenges had an anesthetic effect, and as you can imagine, there were many issues with this cocktail of drugs.
Victory V lozenges are still produced today—but much less popular—because the ether and chlorodyne has been taken out.
Interestingly, red licorice isn’t licorice at all.
It contains no licorice root.
It’s made with just sugar, corn syrup, and artificial flavorings.
Red licorice candy traces its roots to 19th century Europe and gained popularity in the US in the mid 1800s, especially among children.
This candy was made famous by brands like Red Vines and Twizzlers.
There is a shocking 2020 case where a man from Massachusetts died from eating licorice.
The man was known for a poor diet, which included a poor diet, mainly candy and cigarettes.
Shockingly, he ate one to two bags of black licorice on a daily basis.
While at a fast food restaurant, he collapsed and died within 24 hours at a hospital.
The medical personnel found his blood was super low in potassium, and he developed a condition called hypokalemia, which can cause heart issues.
Black licorice is known to have high amounts of glycyrrhizinic acid, which can cause potassium levels to drop dangerously.
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