Darra Goldstein

Roots

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets
Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets

By Darra Goldstein

Published 2015

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Licorice (“sweet root”) is the most popular root flavoring. Extract from the long taproot is sweetened with sugar and made into confections and candies with a distinctive black color. The licorice produced in the Netherlands and parts of Scandinavia is much stronger than American “lickerish,” which is closer to candy. See licorice.

Sarsaparilla, from the root of the South American smilax plant, is a soft drink enjoyed in the American South. Root beer and birch beer are other soft drinks flavored with root extract.