Liquorice

Liquorice is a woody leguminous plant that grows wild in the Far East, where its root is prized for the sweet and intense flavour it imparts to savoury and sweet dishes. Although hardly used at all in this country except in sweets, the flavour can also be found naturally in fennel and star anise. This strong and unmistakable taste comes from a natural oil present in all three of these ingredients called anethole, the flavouring element used to give Pastis, Pernod, Arak and Sambuca drinks their distinctive aniseed and liquorice tang.