Although the annual celebration of Halloween comes once a year, for some of us (and of course, our children) our packets of confectioneries are swelling with delectable treats. Black licorice is one of the time-honored pleasures that many of us traditionally binge on during this festivity.
What is black licorice, really?
Basically, licorice is a confection that is colored black from root extracts of the famed licorice plant, a low-growing shrub called Glycyrrhiza glabra. Licorice is predominantly cultivated in Asia and other countries including Turkey and Greece.
Licorice root has a historic medicinal reputation, too. It finds critical application as a folk remedy in Western and Eastern medicine, particularly in treating conditions like sore throat, heartburn, cough, bronchitis and stomach ulcers. There have been purported instances where licorice root has been used in treating infections triggered by hepatitis and other viruses. Nonetheless, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have yet to reach an affirmative conclusion as to the effectiveness of licorice in treating diseases due to data paucity.
A darling confectionery…
There is an overwhelming multitude of licorice sweets across the globe, most of them coming in tubular forms or as chewy ropes. Black licorice is a popular favorite among those who not only have a sweet tooth, but are also keen on the nutritional content of the candy they eat.
Black licorice is reasonably safer than the bulk of candies littering the market today, given its reduced sugar content. For most of the biggest producers in the U.S, their licorice products’ sugar content is commonly staked at 18g. In the United States and several North American countries, black licorice differs from other licorice variants (being that the latter are not colored with licorice extract), therefore lacking that distinctive black sheath.
Other than sugar, black licorice comprises ingredients like binder and licorice extract. You can choose to flavor it further with other ingredients like molasses, beeswax and ammonium chloride. Most manufacturers opt for the beeswax ingredient to enhance the candy’s luster, making it more mouthwatering visually.
The base varies. This can be gelatin, starch (and in some other cases flour), and gum Arabic. Sometimes, the base can mix either of these ingredients. Ammonium chloride tends to be a major component of salty licorice candy. Occasionally, the concentration can run up to 8%.
Your everyday licorice candy can pack up to 2% of ammonium chloride. This may not be apparent, being subdued by the amplified sugar concentration.
Take note that not all licorice candy is flavored with licorice root extract. Some make do with anise oil flavoring. Anise oil shares the signature smell of licorice root extract, and even retains the taste.
But how safe is black licorice actually?
Black licorice tastes remarkably delicious, but its effects on your health may not be that delicious. It is worth noting that an exorbitant black licorice consumption can damage your system, no thanks to a significant component called glycyrrhizin. A curious name indeed, this is a triterpenoid compound to which the cherished sweetness of licorice root can be attributed. Glycyrrhizin combines the magnesium, potassium, and calcium salts of glycyrrhizic acid.
Depending upon the licorice root species, the glycyrrhizin content can be as little as 2 percent or as high as 25 percent. And guess what? Compared to cane sugar, glycyrrhizin is 50 times sweeter.
Don’t drool just yet, however. Glycyrrhizic acid is not all that good news for your health, despite it being contained in toothpaste, beer and other dietary supplements. To better put it in perspective, owing to the glycyrrhizic acid composition in black licorice, eating more than two ounces of this candy every day for 14 days can cause you…