For centuries, the world over, almost from cradle to grave, people have loved the taste and smell of licorice.
For some, it is reminiscent of scarfing down black licorice whips and boxes of Good & Plenty candy at matinees when they were kids.
For others, it is a memory of sipping a clear, strong aperitif called pastis in France or ouzo in Greece–there are many varieties in other countries, too–that turns cloudy when mixed with water. For Italians, the taste of licorice brings back memories of eating crisp, raw slices of fennel bulb, finocchio, before meals.
For people of Vietnamese ancestry, it is the taste associated with pho, the national soup dish, which includes the beautiful, flower-shaped star anise, the strongest licorice-flavored spice. Chinese cooks also slide licorice flavor into foods with star anise and a five-spice powder that includes star anise and fennel seeds.
People from Thailand get their licorice fix with the purple-stalked, leafy Thai basil.
Trendy dipping cookies called biscotti are flavored with anise seeds or extract. Red wines such as cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel sometimes carry subtle licorice flavors.
For a delicate taste, licorice-lovers turn to the herbs chervil and tarragon.
Ancient remedy
Aside from their flavor, licorice root, anise seed, fennel and their taste cousins have been recognized for centuries for their pharmaceutical or mystical properties.
In ancient Egypt, fennel was cultivated as a pharmaceutical and licorice root was used as medicine. In China around 3000 B.C., licorice was a part of religious ceremonies and was believed to prolong life and endow strength. Fennel seed made into a tea is believed by many to relieve intestinal gas. In Jamaica, licorice bush leaves are combined with other plants to make remedies for colds.
Licorice contains a compound that can help people suffering from peptic ulcers and Addison’s disease, an ailment of the adrenal gland that afflicted President Kennedy. The flavor of licorice is often used to mask unpleasant flavors in medicine; for example, anise seed oil is the predominant flavor of the opiate painkiller paregoric.
Licorice is a plant that belongs to the legume family. Extract, which is often used in baked goods, comes from the plant and is made by boiling the plant’s roots, then evaporating the excess liquid. What’s left is a black mass, according to Harold McGee in “On Food and Cooking” (Collier, 1984), that contains glycyrrhizic acid, which is sweet. But the acid can also be a problem for some people.
According to Varro Tyler in “The Honest Herbal” (Hawthorn Press, 1993), it can cause headache, lethargy, high blood pressure, sodium/water retention and possibly heart failure and cardiac arrest, although this requires a fairly large amount.
Most American licorice candy is flavored with harmless anise, not actual licorice root, although some European licorice candy still uses licorice root flavoring.
Raw licorice root is 50 times sweeter than table sugar, McGee writes.
Licorice contains the essential oil anethole, which is present in anise, fennel and other plants described as having licorice flavors. Pernod, ouzo and other licorice-flavored liqueurs are made with star anise or anise seed extracts.
Sweet source
People who adore the flavor of licorice most often turn to candy to get it in full measure.
Lanny Rose, owner of the Cottage of Sweets in Carmel, Calif., has what he and customers call “the licorice wall,” containing more than 50 types of licorice candy from all over the world.
Rose says people drive hours to his shop to find their particular brand of licorice.
“Almost every country in the world makes a type of licorice,” Rose says. The Dutch like it salty; Americans, sweet. Some countries, such as Finland, England and Germany, add molasses and it has a bitter edge.
“Most people who love the taste of licorice think they are the only ones, but there are millions of us.”
WHERE TO FIND THE FLAVOR OF LICORICE
The following ingredients carry the flavor of licorice:
– Anise seed: Plant grown in bunches with creamy white flowers. Seeds are pale brown, ribbed and a little fuzzy. Uses: A popular flavoring for biscotti. Buy them whole; they lose flavor quickly. Grind in a mortar.
– Chervil: Lacy green herb that tastes faintly of licorice. Easy to grow in cool climates. Uses: Never expose to high heat. Best sprinkled over dishes before serving. Has little flavor when dried. A component of classic fines herbes, which the French use to flavor soups and sauces. Mix with chopped red onion and lemon juice for a fresh relish for fish.
– Fennel: Perennial vegetable that looks a bit like celery with a bulbous base and lacy fronds. Uses: Has strongest flavor when eaten raw, but great braised or grilled. Wonderful with fish. Chop leaves and include in sauces and vinaigrettes.
– Fennel seed: Small, aromatic and flat with yellow ridges. Uses: Lightly crush to release flavors. Often found on seeded bread and in sausage mixtures.
– Star anise: Beautiful, star-shaped fruit pods of an evergreen native to China. Used in meat dishes in Vietnam and in red-sauce-cooked dishes in China. Buy whole star shapes; in recipes, one star anise means whole flower shape. Don’t eat it; remove from dish.
– Sweet cicely: Herb native to Savoy region of France. Looks like a fern. Naturally sweet and fragrant. Use in desserts and green salads.
– Tarragon: Common herb with very delicate flavor. Long, narrow grayish-green leaves. Some people don’t think it tastes like licorice. Use sparingly in butter, vinegar and sauces such as bearnaise. Good in dishes with chicken or mustard.
DOUBLE ANISE CLOUDS
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes per batch
Yield: About 24 clouds or 48 dipping cookies
Adapted from a recipe in “The Italian Baker,” by Carol Field (HarperCollins).
4 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon anise extract
Grated zest of 1/2 an orange or lemon
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, ground cloves
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons anise seeds, crushed
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper; butter paper. Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until a small amount of batter, when dropped from beaters, forms a slowly disappearing ribbon, 8 to 10 minutes. Add extract and citrus zest.
2. Sift flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt into medium bowl. Sift again with baking powder. Fold into egg mixture. Stir in anise seeds.
3. Spoon batter into pastry bag fitted with wide tip. Pipe strips resembling lady fingers (or drop batter with tablespoon) onto parchment paper. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack; cool completely.
Note: For harder cookies suitable for dipping into coffee or tea, turn oven down to 325 degrees; cut large cookies in half. Return to oven an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on rack.
Nutrition information per cloud:
Calories……..65.2 Fat……………1 g Cholesterol…….31 mg
Sodium…….20.2 mg Carbohydrates..12.5 g Protein……………g
SEA BASS WITH FENNEL
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 65 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
This seems like a lot of fennel, but it reduces to only 2 cups. You can also make this without the fish and use it as a side dish or a topping for pizza or lightly toasted bread squares as an hors d’oeuvre. A good accompaniment for the fish is a green salad tossed with orange segments, mint, olives and a vinaigrette of olive oil and orange juice.
8 small fennel bulbs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons Pernod liqueur, optional
4 pieces sea bass, 4 to 5 ounces each
Salt, freshly ground pepper
1. Cut tops off fennel, reserving some of the lacier fronds near center for garnish. Core fennel; slice thinly.
2. Heat oil and butter in large saute pan over medium heat. Add fennel, stir, then add water. Cover tightly. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook without lifting lid about 15 minutes, then stir. Replace lid; continue to cook 15 minutes longer. Stir again and cook another 15 minutes. Remove lid, raise heat to medium; add sugar and Pernod if using. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel begins to turn a medium bronze color, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove fennel and keep warm.
3. Season sea bass with salt and pepper; place in skillet over medium heat. Add a little water if necessary (there should be some oil remaining in skillet). Cover; cook about 5 minutes. Turn fish over and cook another 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Place a piece of fish on each of 4 warm serving plates. Divide fennel among the plates and garnish with fennel fronds.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories………….300 Fat…………22 g Cholesterol……110 mg
Sodium…………101 mg Carbohydrates…3 g Protein…………22 g
STAR ANISE BEEF IN LETTUCE CUPS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from “From the Earth to the Table,” by John Ash (Dutton).
1 1/2 pounds lean pot roast, tri-tip preferred
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
2 whole star anise pods
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed
1 two-inch piece cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced diagonally into 2-inch lengths
1 two-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into coins
1 head butter lettuce or half a head iceberg lettuce, washed, spun dry
1. Cut pot roast into thick 2-inch-long strips. Heat oil in heavy skillet over high heat. Quickly brown beef strips. Set aside.
2. Combine water and all remaining ingredients except lettuce in large saucepan. Heat to a boil; add beef. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until beef is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove cinnamon stick, ginger and star anise. Cool beef in liquid; remove and shred.
3. Place beef and lettuce leaves in separate bowls. To serve, place a portion of beef into a leaf and roll up.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories………282 Fat………….12.5 g Cholesterol…..104 mg
Sodium…….61.5 mg Carbohydrates….5.4 g Protein………35.4 g
BAKED POTATO SALAD WITH FINES HERBES
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 70 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
6 pounds baking potatoes (about 6 large)
4 tablespoons very finely minced red onion
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt, see note
1/4 cup coarse mustard
1/4 cup each: minced fresh chervil, parsley, chives or green onions, tarragon
Lemon juice to taste
Salt, pepper to taste
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse potatoes; pierce with a fork. Bake on rack 60 to 70 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Cool potatoes on a rack.
2. Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients except lemon juice, salt and pepper in large bowl.
3. Cut potatoes into slices (peeled or unpeeled, as you like); add to yogurt-herb mixture. Combine gently (some of the slices may crumble). Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve warm or slightly chilled.
Note: You may substitute regular or reduced-fat mayonnaise for all or part of the yogurt.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories……..154 Fat…………..1 g Cholesterol………1.4 mg
Sodium…….125 mg Carbohydrates…33 g Protein…………..4.6 g
