Licorice: love it or loathe it?

August 19, 2025 by
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In her Substack newsletter, Dorie Greenspan just posted about licorice, which as she notes is a divisive flavor. Just like cilantro, it seems to be a love it or hate it item. For some the taste aversion stems from having licorice flavored medicine as a child, but for others it seems to be built in, although scientists have not yet linked it to a genetic variant in the same way as cilantro. Like Dorie, I enjoy the taste of licorice in food and drink.

Corpse reviver from Hauntingly Good Spirits by Sharon Keating and Christi Keating Sumich

The cocktail recipe Dorie provided (via David Liebovitz), which David calls a Lillet Reviver, is nearly identical to a Corpse Reviver #2, which is my favorite cocktail. The swirl of pastis (I use Pernod) in the glass provides just enough licorice flavor to enhance the remaining ingredients without overpowering them. I also like baking with anise and fennel, especially pairing the latter with orange. Licorice candies also make the grade in my house, although I have never tried the “real-real” ones that Dorie describes.

The EYB Library has 162 online recipes using (or for) licorice, either as licorice root, a form of licorice candy, or DIY licorice candies using anise. (There are thousands more recipes featuring anise or fennel.) Some recipes use licorice ropes as decoration, but most have it as a flavoring ingredient. The flavor pairings are all over the map: chocolate, blueberries, beef, onions, even sea urchins appear in the recipes. Dorie says Rose Wilde has a buttercream recipe that features a black sesame and licorice, which I find intriguing. Where do you stand on licorice: love it or loathe it?

Category: Antipasto

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14 Comments

  • Fyretigger  on  August 20, 2025

    I do not care for licorice candy, but I love roasted fennel bulb, fennel orange salad, Italian sausage, Icelandic chocolate (which contains licorice) and of course my go to drink is gin, which frequently contains fennel, star anise or both.

    And now you’ve got me wanting to make a pasta dish I invented 25 years ago with fresh fennel, Italian sausage, mushrooms, Kalamata olives and white wine.

  • FuzzyChef  on  August 20, 2025

    I like it, mainly with alcohol.

  • Indio32  on  August 20, 2025

    Love fennel etc and often have a pastis but those black licorice sweets….. yuck!!!

  • dmco6863  on  August 20, 2025

    Being Dutch I grew up loving salted liquorice until one day I was given liquorice allsorts. Yuk! Fennel is a staple. Ouzo no thanks.

  • willamhbayer  on  August 20, 2025

    I put black and red licorice in the same category as mint products. They totally overwhelm my tastebuds. If licorice or mint are in a recipe I have tasted they hijack my tastebuds and it ends up being virtually the only thing I taste.
    I am a fan of fennel, anise, and french tarragon. I love cilantro.

  • averythingcooks  on  August 20, 2025

    I love the flavour of black licorice candy, I grew up sucking on Sen-Sens (if you know, you know), I use fennel seeds as a spice often and am slowly experimenting with fresh fennel BUT oddly I used tarragon once and seriously did not like the flavour of the final dish so never risked it again.

  • Jane  on  August 20, 2025

    Like others I have mixed views about anise flavors. I love fennel, both fresh and spice, and anise. Also like Liquorice Allsorts (as the word is spelled in the UK). But strongly dislike anise drinks like Pernod and ouzo, salted licorice and tarragon.

  • eliza  on  August 21, 2025

    I love anything liquorice including fennel, candies, etc, but I really think there must be a genetic component to tarragon. I grew it for a while, and liked the initial taste, but it left a terrible metallic aftertaste. I also don’t risk it, subbing with basil, parsley, dill etc in recipes.

  • FJT  on  August 21, 2025

    It seems I am not alone in loving fennel and tarragon, but not liquorice sweets. Took me a while to try both fennel and tarragon because everyone told me they tasted of liquorice. I can’t cope with pastis or ouzo – even the smell makes me gag.

  • Nancith  on  August 21, 2025

    I don’t like those black licorice chewy candies, but I do like anise-flavored hard candies as well as anise-flavored liquors and baked good (springerle comes to mind!).

  • juliannajh  on  August 22, 2025

    I’m fully on Team Licorice. I love it in every context I’ve tried it, right down to chewing on dried licorice roots as a kid. Until I stopped drinking, I loved licorice-flavored liqueurs, with sambuca being a particular favorite. Unfortunately at this point in my life I can’t enjoy it as often as I’d like (medication contraindications), but I eat as much fennel and anise as I can to make up for it. And I still partake of Scandinavian-style salted licorice once in a while when I want an extra-special treat.

  • Therese  on  August 22, 2025

    Love all the anise.
    This post prompts me to find my recipe for mussels ; soften sliced fennel ; saute blobs of Italian pork & fennel.sausage squeezed out of the casings ….. Add Pernod, & then the mussels to steam. Top with chopped fennel fronds if you are a true addict, Serve with bread

  • hkbabel  on  August 24, 2025

    @Therese – your mussels sound fabulous!!!

  • babazar  on  September 5, 2025

    I live in Turkey and some years back went to the food city of Gaziantep in Eastern Turkey. The bazars there are phenomenal especially the areas selling dried food stuff. It was there that I first encountered freshly dug up licorice root. The merchant pulled off a small piece and said “try this”. The licorice taste stayed with me the entire day. Amazing intro to the origin of the candy I have eaten since my NYC childhood

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