LICORICE, BABY!!!

Yummy Yummy Yummy. I love licorice! My favourite is the basic, he-man Australian licorice (pictured above) but I like it in any form pretty much. Licorice goes way back to early history and is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region. The pharoahs in Egypt were lucky enough to get it. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar liked a nice piece of licorice now and then. In the Middle Ages, crusaders brought licorice back to England with them. The English love licorice; they be particularly fond of licorice allsorts.

The first licorice produced in England came from a monastery in Pontefract where it became a major industry; a licorice festival is held their every year. In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote of people using licorice to sweeten their breath. Then, early settlers brought licorice with them to the new world. In Paris in the late 18th century, a drink made from powdered licorice root was called "coco" because it was usually served in a coconut half. It became all the rage and was served all over Paris in their famous cafes. Today, April 12th is National Licorice Day.

Licorice comes from a plant called Glycyrrhiza which means "sweet root" in Greek. Licorice is sometimes referred to as "Sweet Wood" or "Spanish Juice". Besides being used for food, licorice was also used in medicine. It was thought to relieve coughs and quench thirst and is also anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic besides being a mild diuretic (as everyone knows when they eat too much of it). Licorice is also used to flavour tobacco (so all you smokers who hate licorice better apologize to me right now!) As a kiddy-winkie, my favourite gum was Black Jack (it still is); Happy Harry chewed it as well in the movie "Pump Up the Volume" (but I'm sure he got the idea from me!). When I was a kid, BlackJack had a pirate on the package (as can be seen here) but nowadays it looks like that there on the left. Sadly, BlackJack gum is only produced certain times of the year and sells out pretty fast. Well, I'm gonna chaw me some licorice right now. Join me in my happy little licorice dance!