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How licorice candy is made

The main sweet compound in licorice root is about 30 to 50 times sweeter than sugar, and some candy uses little of it.

stations
6
things upstream
27
raw sources
10
steps from the ground
9

The short version

Licorice candy starts with a dark extract from the root of the licorice plant. The extract is dissolved with sugar, a starch or flour base and often molasses, and the whole mix is cooked at 135 degrees Celsius. It is poured into molds pressed into trays of starch powder, dried and sprayed with beeswax so it shines.

  1. Dig up the roots

    The licorice plant is a legume with a long sweet root. It is harvested in autumn, two to three years after planting, in places such as Turkey, Greece, Iran and Iraq.

  2. Draw out the sweet extract

    The sweet, aromatic part of the root is pulled out as a concentrated dark extract. The main sweet compound is glycyrrhizin, and its flavor builds slowly and lingers longer than sugar does.

  3. Cook the candy mass

    Extract, sugar, a binder of starch or flour and often molasses are dissolved in water and heated to 135 degrees Celsius. The binder is what turns a syrup into a chewy sweet.

    135 °C

    Goes in
    SugarFlourMolassesWater

  4. Pour into starch molds

    Holes are pressed into a tray of starch powder and the hot liquid is poured into them. The powder soaks up surface moisture and holds the shape until the candy sets, and is sifted off and used again. Common ropes and twists are extruded instead.

  5. Dry the pieces

    The poured candy dries in its molds until it can be handled. The pieces are then lifted out of the powder.

  6. Spray with wax

    A light spray of beeswax gives the surface a shine and keeps the pieces from sticking together.

    Goes in
    Beeswax
End of the lineLicorice

Worth repeating

  • In most licorice-flavored candy the taste is boosted with aniseed oil, so the actual licorice content is low.
  • In the Netherlands, salty licorice is made with ammonium chloride and sold as zoute drop.
  • The word licorice comes from the Greek for sweet root.

Back to the ground

Follow every input upstream and licorice starts as these 10 raw sources.

WaterSugarcaneSugar beetWheatHoneycombLimestoneAirCornNatural gasCrude oil

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Sources

Cite this page: "How licorice candy is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/licorice

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