The use of licorice in cooking, food and drinks dates back to ancient times. Licorice has been used as an ingredient in cooking, while creating a pleasant herbal taste and aroma which is similar to fennel and anise to some extent.
Sepidan Osareh Jonoob Company provided some information about using licorice in drinks.
Using Licorice in Drinks
Licorice can be used in different drinks from teas to alcoholic ones.
Erk-soos
There is a kind of drink called “erk-soos” in Egypt, that is famous for relieving stomachache and quenching thirst. It is recommended to be used in Ramadan. To prepare this drink, you can boil licorice in water about 5 minutes. For stronger taste, put licorice root in water overnight and then boil it for 5 minutes. You can add some sugar if you want to.
Licorice Tea
For making licorice tea, we can use licorice powder or ground licorice root. Licorice is also available in tea bags. Licorice dried leaves can be used for tea. This herbal tea is very useful for our body and health. It can relieve sore throat and cough, digestive problems, headache and stress. It can control stomach acid and reflux; it treats fatty liver and strengthens the immune system; it helps to lose weight. Licorice tea can be combined with other herbal teas such as chamomile or mint to add variety to the taste and to increase its effectiveness.
For licorice tea, you can also use licorice DGL. It is deglycyrrhizinated licorice; in fact, during a process (deglycyrrhizination), glycyrrhizin is reduced. DGL is produced in powder form. Its color is yellowish light brown.
Other Drinks
Licorice root powder is used in making tea bags, medicinal syrups, and other traditional beverages.
Licorice is also used in alcoholic beverages especially strong ones like Cocktail, Martini, Vodca. It gives them strong and special taste.
In England, licorice has been frequently used as a flavoring in stout (strong dark beer).
Provided by: Sepidan Osareh Jonoob Co.
Editor: Meysam Shokripour
References : iranlicorice.com
