Liquorice cake | Good Food Channel Good Food Channel > Liquorice cake Liquorice cake Allegra McEvedy's sweet treat is made from liquorice cakes flavoured with cinnamon, orange, currants and black treacle By Allegra McEvedy 150 g butter, at room temperature 200 g sugar 2-3 oranges, juice and zest of half Tips and Suggestions Pontefract cakes are small, roughly circular black sweets made of liquorice, originally manufactured in the Yorkshire town of Pontefract, England. If you can't get them from Yorkshire, use the Haribo version instead - you'll find bags in most supermarkets, including Waitrose. Method 1. Place the tea bags into a mug and half-fill with boiling water. Brew for 3-4 minutes, remove the tea bags and add the currants to soak for at least 10-15 minutes. 2. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3.

Grease and line a 18-20 round cake tin, or a 12-cup cupcake tin if you would prefer to make 12 small cakes instead of one big one. 3. Cut each Pontefract cake in 6-8 pieces. 4. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Sieve in the flour and add the eggs, mixing until well combined. 5. Pour away half of the tea in the mug, then add the rest, along with the soaked currants, into the cake batter. Stir in the cinnamon, black treacle and the chopped Pontefract cakes. 6. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin of choice and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean - reduce the cooking time by 5-10 minutes if baking cupcakes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. 7. Meanwhile, mix together the icing sugar with the orange juice and zest to form a syrup. Drizzle over the cooled cakes before serving.

Rate This Recipe Roots of History ROOTS OF HISTORY PONTEFRACT's LIQUORICE AND CONFECTIONERY INDUSTRY with TOM SHAY DIXON Pontefract may well be home to a once Royal castle, one of the best equipped racecourses in the country and three railway stations, but it is the component part of a small circular black lozenge or sweet which has been synonymous with the town for centuries and for which the town of Pontefract has become renowned throughout the modern world. Who would have envisaged that a once medicinal based lozenge could transform the ancient market town into one of the liquorice centres of the world and establish it as a market leader in confectionery products. Coincidentally, the first issue of the new Digest Magazine makes its appearance at the start of the nine day festival of events celebrating the townï¿½s liquorice heritage and if Pontefract can be considered synonymous with the cultivation of liquorice in Britain then the name of Tom Shay Dixon must similarly be applied to Pontefract liquorice itself.

It was with great pleasure that I was recently invited to visit Tom at his home, Beck House, on Knottingley Road, Pontefract, to hear his fascinating recollections of liquorice growing in Pontefract and his work as a boilerman at Wilkinson's liquorice factory. Turning in to Tom's driveway you are immediately struck by the beauty and expanse of the impeccably maintained grounds to the rear of his home which quite surprisingly are not defaced by the imposing banking of the Swinton and Knottingley Railway which straddles the main road directly outside, courtesy of a quite uncomplimentary iron bridge. Beck House is a three-storey building, two of which are visible from the main road with the upper floor almost on a level with the railway itself. The house was built by Tom's great grandfather, Tom Shay, back in 1810, preceding the construction of the railway by more than six decades. In spite of essential modernisation over the years, the original feel of the house has been carefully maintained and beneath a covering of emulsion, the interior of the attached stable block appears little changed from how it must have appeared all those years ago.

Just off the stables are the specially constructed brick arched underground cellars where the harvested liquorice roots were stored until the price was deemed right to sell. Little do present day travellers utilising the main road outside Tom's home realise that they are actually driving over the top of his cellars. The interior of the house is delightful, offering a light and airy outlook to the rear over the surrounding grounds and across distant fields. Two sets of solid stone steps forming a central staircase connect the three levels with rooms leading to left and right at each level, and not a creaking stair to be heard! It's not difficult to imagine being transformed back in time with only the sweet aroma of liquorice root missing. Outside in the secluded courtyard to the rear of the house you are presented with a wonderful vista overlooking the historic liquorice fields which yielded their final crop of roots in 1970, while through a wrought iron gateway and into a small but carefully maintained planted area, Tom delights in showing me a selection of his thriving liquorice plants. By no means a plantation but a small piece of our history that he continues to tend and nurture for the enjoyment of others and as a constant reminder of his ancestral heritage.

Liquorice is a herbaceous perennial from the genus glycyrrhiza and native to areas of Southern Europe and Asia. The meaning of the Greek word glycyrrhiza is 'sweet root' and it is the roots of the plant that gives liquorice its characteristic flavour, being some fifty times sweeter than sugar. It is believed that the first liquorice plants were brought to Pontefract by Cluniac Monks who came to Pontefract to establish a new monastery. The Priory of St. John stood on an area that we now know as Monkhill and it was here that recent excavations revealed the remains of a medieval pharmacy where liquorice was extracted from the roots of the plant and used in the preparation of medicines. Despite our cooler climate, the liquorice plants thrived in the deep loamy soil, which is an essential requirement for their cultivation as the roots can extend to some four or five feet in depth. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, Pontefract farmers continued to cultivate liquorice and a thriving cottage industry was established to process and refine the liquorice extract especially for medicinal purposes.

As far back as 1614 it is recorded that a round liquorice lozenge was being produced to ease stomach disorders and then in the mid 1700s an enterprising chemist by the name of George Dunhill developed the ancient recipes further by adding sugar to produce a circular liquorice sweet. The 1800s saw a boom in the confectionery business in Pontefract producing the 'Yorkshire Pennies' which were later to become known as Pontefract Cakes. Returning to Tom's kitchen we sit opposite each other at a table while he begins to relate some of the many stories and anecdotes he has accumulated over the years. His knowledge certainly equals his undoubted enthusiasm and he constantly taps the table to reiterate certain points, which is somewhat disconcerting as my voice recorder is placed on the same table and I am increasingly concerned that his tapping might drown out his narrative. "At the turn of the century..", begins Tom, "...there were 17 liquorice works in the town, but after the Second World War there were just five and now only two remain. It was a very lucrative business.

There was just one refinery in the town, located at the bottom of Broad Lane directly opposite what is now a kitchen showroom, and it was there where the roots were pressed and the juice allowed to solidify into lumps of hard black liquorice. We never sold our liquorice there though, we sold all ours to Boots the chemist in Nottingham where it was used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce cough and stomach remedies." "There were five main growers in Pontefract. The main growers were the Booths and then there were the Woods, the Depledges, the Carters, and my mother's family, the Shays, whose house I live in to this day. The last commercial crop was grown in the fields at the back of our house in about 1970. It takes between four and seven years to grow liquorice from setting the bud. In the warmer climates of the world they can grow liquorice from seeds but we had to grow from 'buds', similar to cuttings, because in our climate, liquorice never seeds - or at least it never did up until last year when every bush I had seeded, which must say something for global warming.

This meant that in Iraq, Iran and Turkey, where it is possible to grow plants in two years, they were producing four or five crops to our one. The liquorice industry in Pontefract was becoming un-commercial and with the increasing popularity of chocolate amongst children there was a gradual decline in the liquorice market." "However, liquorice has many uses, not just in the confectionery business. A doctor at Pontefract Infirmary and also a doctor at the Cromwell Hospital in London discovered that they could use the little shreads that come off the root, thin little pieces just like cotton, for stitching the guts up and they also used it for ulcer operations and cancer operations because they found it stimulates the guts and it melts away leaving no sign of it, so they used it at Pontefract Infirmary, which is quite unique and a lot of people don't realise that. I believe that doctors in London still use it to this day so it has a lot of use within the medical world." "During the war, while many of our troops were dying of thirst out in the deserts and jungles of the world, the Japanese were able to adapt to the conditions and our commanding officers couldn't understand why.

The opposing armies had the same amount of water, endured the same conditions, but they could keep going seemingly for ever, until it was discovered that when Hannibal took his elephants over the alps, they gave them liquorice to chew and also the Arabs on the camel trains across the desert gave all the camels liquorice to chew as it quenched their thirst and stopped them becoming thirsty. Our government cottoned on to this and began issuing liquorice to our troops." "When they were carrying out renovation work on Hadrian's Wall they found a lot of decayed liquorice which it is believed had been brought across by the Romans so whether they used it for medicinal purposes or whether they used it to stop their troops becoming over-thirsty we don't know. But that is a known fact about liquorice." "The first man to use liquorice in Pontefract to make the actual Pontefract Cakes was George Dunhill who was a chemist in the town.

He took the raw liquorice, boiled it, added sugar to it, mollassess, flour, made it into a dough, made a paste, rolled it into little round balls and then he sold it in his chemist shop to the miners going to work because it stimulated the guts, stopped them being thirsty - which they didn't realise it did at the time, but it did, and it also cured any chest ailments they had.ï¿½ ï¿½All the confectionery made in the local factories was produced by hand and each factory had its own unique style. The girls at Wilkinson's used to roll theirs out and nip pieces off onto a tray. Each tray held 240 cakes and each girl was required to complete fifteen trays per hour, so from start to finish they never stopped. The girls acquired the nickname of 'Spanish Thumpers'.ï¿½ ï¿½It wasn't until a man named Roy Pringle came on the scene that the process of manufacture became automated. Roy, who lived just along the road from where I live now, was employed at Wilkinson's and he invented a machine to produce Pontefract Cakes using compressed air, after which time the 'Thumpers' went into decline.

They were becoming obsolete because it was now possible to produce the sweets much quicker by machine.ï¿½ ï¿½In those days you had to serve an apprenticeship to become a liquorice boiler and I was apprenticed to a man called George Firth who was the senior boiler at Wilkinson's and lived in Northgate where he had a little corner shop. Every factory in its day had its own liquorice boiler, like a brewery had its own brewers, and each thought they had the best formulas and could make the best liquorice in the world. They probably hadn't, but they thought so.ï¿½ There were 750 women working at Wilkinsonï¿½s Liquorice Works and I couldnï¿½t pull one of them! ï¿½There were no machines or anything like that in those days; you had to put the flour into the boiling pan with the treacle and the molasses, and boil it. From start to finish each liquorice boiling took four and a half hours. We started at 6.00am in the morning and the first boiling came out at 10.00am.

We then put another one on that came out at 2.00pm and another one that came out at 6.00pm at night. So you worked twelve hours a day. It was the lousiest job I've had in my life! Hot and sweaty, I was covered in acne as a young lad, and my face was covered in plasters due to the burns I received. There were 750 women working in Wilkinson's Liquorice works and I couldn't pull one of them with all those plasters on my face!ï¿½ ï¿½I left to do my National Service, came back home, and went back to Wilkinsonï¿½s where I met my future wife, but I decided there was no future in boiling liquorice - the industry was declining, machinery was coming in to replace the big boiling pans and I couldn't see any future so I bailed out.ï¿½ ï¿½Not many people are aware that the town of Pontefract received acclaim in the film industry.

I donï¿½t know if it was Robinson and Wordsworth, who had their factory in Ferrybridge Road, or Hillaby's that was burned down in around 1947, but most people will have seen Charlie Chaplin in the 1925 film The Gold Rush. In that film Charlie Chaplin is seen eating his boots and laces, and the boots were specially made from liquorice produced in Pontefract but we're not quite sure which factory actually made them. At a later date, the 1979 Bond film Moonraker with Roger Moore, featured a character called Jaws who in one particular scene is seen biting through a thick electric cable while on one of those ski-lifts or whatever you want to call them. As he bites through the cable, sparks begin flying all over the place but the cable was actually made out of liquorice produced in Pontefract and sent down to Pinewood Studios.ï¿½ ï¿½Also, Spencer Tracy and Kathleen Hepburn appeared in a 1949 film called Adams Rib, which also featured an infamous liquorice gun scene.

The gun used in the film was also made out of liquorice produced in Pontefract.ï¿½ ï¿½Introduced by Bruce Forsyth, Acker Bilk was filmed playing Stranger on The Shore on a clarinet on London Weekendï¿½s ï¿½Beat the Clockï¿½ during the 1950s. The clarinet was made from liquorice and made at W.R. Wilkinsonï¿½s, Pontefract, but unfortunately due to the the heat from the studio lights it began to melt and dropped onto the floor.ï¿½ ï¿½I remember the liquorice works of Eubanks was bombed during the war, it was the only liquorice works to be hit and there was sugar and stuff running all down the street at Friarwood, where the hospital is now. I would have been about eight-years-old at the time and me and a group of other kids were picking lumps of sugar up off the floor and eating it.ï¿½ ï¿½All the liquorice factories in Pontefract were originally family owned, every factory borne by a family; there were no big corporations like there is today.

Wilkinson's present factory on Monkhill was established by a gentleman named Mr. W.H. Marshall who came to Pontefract from Somerset to work for W.R. Wilkinson who at that time had a factory down Skinner Lane opposite the cemetery at the back of the old workhouse. Mr. Marshall was a dynamic businessman who ended up becoming the sole proprietor of the company. When I started at the Monkhill factory as a young lad, you could go back there on an evening, which we did on frequent occasions along with many of the girls, to play putting, bowls and tennis.ï¿½ ï¿½After the war, a former employee by the name of Norman Theodore Harrison was asked to take over the running of the factory which he agreed to do. Norman served at Wilkinsonï¿½s with great success and by this time the company were exporting all over the world. He employed around 500-600 women, many of whom were terrified of him. The girls gave him the nickname of ï¿½Buzzerï¿½ because he was always buzzing all over the place and you could never catch up with him.

ï¿½Buzzerï¿½ was an absolute tyrant, working in the factory from 6.00am in the morning until 8.00pm at night, five days per week, but he certainly put W.R. Wilkinsonï¿½s on the map.ï¿½ ï¿½Wilkinsonï¿½s was a family run business but it was a sweat shop - in fact they were all sweat shops; it was extremely hard work and you hadn't a minute to spare. You were allowed to go to the canteen on a morning or afternoon and had two minutes to walk there and two minutes to walk back, so by the time you got to the canteen you had four minutes during which you could either have a cigarette, a cup of tea or a visit to the toilet but you hadn't time for all the lot. ï¿½Buzzerï¿½ ruled with an iron rod and I suppose people hated his guts really but they admired him for his dynamism and effort.

Yes, they were sweat shops and it was the worst years of my life working in those factories.ï¿½ ï¿½Sadly, the Marshall family died within a few years of each other and crippled with death duties they had little option but to sell out to Trebor Bassett of Sheffield. By this time Norman Harrison was 65 years old and he found it difficult to adapt to a big company coming on to the scene and so he retired from the position. However, you couldnï¿½t help but admire his energy and enthusiasm.ï¿½ ï¿½I remember once, shortly after Norman had produced some new mints, he wanted a name for them and a competition was held with people being invited to submit their suggestions. I was the one who suggested they were called ï¿½Wilko Mintsï¿½ and he gave me a cash prize for coming up with the name. I used the prize money to purchase a Lambretta scooter.ï¿½ ï¿½As already mentioned, I met my wife while working at Wilkinsonï¿½s and there is a little story that goes with that.

One day she came home and told me that she had accidentally packed her engagement ring in a packet of liquorice allsorts. Well I reckoned to blow my top but I weren't right bothered cos I didn't give a right lot for it but she doesn't know that to this day. We found out later that those liquorice allsorts had gone all the way to America so somebody in America would have opened a box of liquorice allsorts containing a lovely diamond ring. They had an x-ray machine at Wilkinsonï¿½s but I don't think they x-rayed all the products that went out in those days. It was just luck if they managed to catch something.ï¿½ ï¿½There was one lady working at Wilkinsonï¿½s called Nellie Murray. Now little Nellie lived up Willow Park and she lost her boyfriend on Armistice Day in 1918 and she never ever got over it. She never married and she became a figurehead at Wilkinsonï¿½s.

Itï¿½s been estimated that over the years she must have made 22,000,000 liquorice pipes and in those days all the liquorice pipes were made by hand as well as the cakes and Nellie sat at a table making these pipes every day of her working life.ï¿½ ï¿½As far as Pontefract goes, liquorice is part of our Heritage. Wakefield go on about rhubarb, but you can grow rhubarb almost anywhere. You canï¿½t grow liquorice just anywhere!ï¿½ Tom Shay Dixon was speaking with Michael Norfolk Roots of History with Tom Shay Dixon was published in the Digest Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1, July 2007. A Modern Herbal | Liquorice [ Top ] ---Description--- The plants are graceful, with light, spreading, pinnate foliage, presenting an almost feathery appearance from a distance. The leaflets (like those of the False Acacia) hang down during the night on each side of the midrib, though they do not meet beneath it.

From the axils of the leaves spring racemes or spikes of papilionaceous small pale-blue, violet, yellowish-white or purplish flowers, followed by small pods somewhat resembling a partly-grown peapod in form. In the type species glabra, the pods are smooth, hence the specific name; in others they are hairy or spiny. The underground system, as in so many Leguminosae, is double, the one part consisting of a vertical or tap root, often with several branches penetrating to a depth of 3 or 4 feet, the other of horizontal rhizomes, or stolons, thrown off from the root below the surface of the ground, which attain a length of many feet. These runners are furnished with leafbuds and throw up stems in their second year. The perennial downward-running roots as well as the long horizontal stolons are equally preserved for use. Various indications point to the habit of this plant of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, as do many others of the family. In the species glandulifera (W. and K.) the pods are covered with thick, glandular spines, and the whole plant is pubescent or roughly glandular.

The underground portion is not so spreading and produces a carrot-shaped root larger than the Spanish root derived from G. glabra. This species is indigenous to South-east Europe, Syria and Western Asia, and is both wild and cultivated in Russia. Both the Russian and Persian Liquorice of commerce is derived from G. glandulifera, the Russian reaching this country is peeled or unpeeled: its taste although sweet, is accompanied by a more or less perceptible bitterness. It consists chiefly of roots, not runners. Persian Liquorice root, collected in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, from G. glandulifera, and exported in bales from Bussorah, is usually unpeeled, and is in rather large, coarse pieces, closely resembling the Russian root. Both the Russian and Persian varieties are largely consumed in the United States the root of G. glandulifera is equally official in the United States Pharmacopaeia with that of G. glabra. G. echinata, a native of Hungary, south Russia and Asia Minor, is the official German species. It has short globular heads of flowers and a small, ovoid pod with long spines.

Probably a portion of the root from Italy and Sicily is the product of G. echinata, which grows wild in Apulia. The root is also somewhat bitter and there are contradictory statements concerning its quality, due perhaps to its having been confused with G. glandulifera. Asiatic Liquorice is obtained from G. uralensis (Fisch.), found in Turkestan, Mongolia and Siberia, and little inferior to the best Russian Liquorice. G. lepidota (Pursh), American Liquorice, is a species of the north-western United States. The rhizome is said to resemble that of Spanish Liquorice, but is smaller. It is only grown now to a very limited extent in this country, being cultivated on a small scale near Pontefract in Yorkshire, though formerly it was extensively grown at Mitcham in Surrey, also at Godalming, and at Worksop (Notts).

The English Extract of Liquorice, made from the fresh home-grown root, sold in the lozenge form and known as Pontefract or Pomfrey cakes, is said to have a more delicate flavour than that imported, and it is considered that the cultivation of English Liquorice might well be extended, Essex and Surrey being suitable districts for its growth. In southern Italy, large quantities of Liquorice root are grown, but it is chiefly converted into Extract, though some of the root is exported. Spain and the south of France furnish quantities of carefully dried Liquorice root. Up to the year 1890, the cultivation of Spanish Liquorice was small or moderate in comparison with the wild collection. Owing, however, to the depletion of the natural supplies of root of good quality, this cultivation has grown rapidly in South and South-central Europe, where the climate is favourable. Liquorice grows best on sandy soil near streams, usually not being found in the wild condition more than 50 yards from water.

It will not flourish on clay and prefers the rich, fine soil of bottom lands in river valleys, where there is an abundance of moisture during the growing period, but where the ground bakes hard during the hot, late summer months, when the dry heat is very favourable for the formation of the sweet constituents. The plant succeeds most in a warm climate; not only can it not endure severe freezing, but cool weather interferes with the formation of its useful juice and renders it woody. It has been found that a climate particularly favourable to the production of the orange is favourable to that of Liquorice. Owing to the depth to which the root penetrates and its ready propagation from detached pieces, the plant is a most persistent weed in cultivated grounds where it is indigenous and exceedingly difficult of extirpation. It is very healthy and robust and very little subject to disease, at the same time successfully occupying the ground to the exclusion of other plants. For this reason, the continuation of the natural supply may be considered as assured, though it is liable to suffer severe reduction from over-collection. The supply of natural root has suffered severe fluctuations owing to the exhaustion of supplies in the districts previously worked, alternating with over-production from newlyopened districts.

This fact, coupled with the operations of speculators, has resulted in equally great fluctuations in quality, the new districts yielding full-grown root of good quality, the older ones that which has not been allowed to develop properly. The cultivation of Liquorice is easy, sure and profitable and, if properly conducted, conducive to the betterment of the soil. On account of the depth to which the root strikes when the plant has room to flourish, the soil should have a good staple of mould 2 or 3 feet in depth and be manured if necessary. The planting season is either October, or February and March; the latter is preferred. The plants are procured from old plantations, being waste from the harvesting process, consisting of those side roots or runners which have eyes or buds, cut into sections about 6 inches long. They are dibbled in, in rows 3 or 4 feet apart, about 4 inches underneath the surface and about 18 inches apart in the rows. In the autumn, the ground is dressed with farmyard manure, about 40 tons to the acre.

During the first two years the growth is slight, the plants not rising above a foot the first season, and in Calabria the intervening space is generally utilized for the production of potatoes, cabbages and similar crops. The soil being heavily fertilized for the production of Liquorice, these crops are usually very luxuriant. After the second year, the growing Liquorice plants cover the entire soil to the exclusion of other growth. ---Harvesting and Preparation for Market--- Not until the end of the third season will the roots be ready to take up for use, but harvesting generally occurs only in the autumn of the fourth year. The soil is carefully removed from the space between the rows to a depth of 2 or 3 feet as required, thus exposing the roots and rhizomes at the side, the whole being then removed bodily. The earth from the next space is then removed and thrown into the trench thus formed and these operations are repeated continuously. Every portion of the subterranean part of the plant is carefully saved, the drug consisting of both runners and roots, the former constituting the major part.

The roots proper are washed, trimmed and sorted, and either sold in their entire state or cut into shorter lengths and dried, in the latter case the cortical layer being sometimes removed by scraping. The older or 'hard' runners are sorted out and sold separately; the young, called 'soft,' are reserved for propagation. The average yield per acre is from 4 to 5 tons. The same ground yields a crop every three or four years, the fourth-year growth being the best. That of the third year and earlier is deficient in sweet substances, but immediately after the fourth year the texture begins to take on a tough, coarse and woody character. It is desirable also to collect the roots of those plants which have never borne fruit since that process exhausts the sweet substance of the sap. English-grown Liquorice is dug up in late autumn and sold mostly in the fresh state for making extract, only a small amount being dried. Fresh Liquorice (English) when washed is externally of a bright yellowish brown. It is very flexible, easily cut with a knife, exhibiting a light-yellow, juicy internal substance, which consists of a thick bark surrounding a woody column.

Both bark and wood are extremely tough, readily tearing into long, fibrous strings. The root has a peculiar earthy odour and a strong, characteristic, sweet taste. Most of the dried Liquorice root imported into this country comes from Spain and Russia, supplies of the official drug being drawn chiefly from Spain, the better quality of which comes from Tortosa and Alicante. Both Spanish and Russian Liquorice are usually exported in large bales or bundles, or rarely, in the case of the Spanish variety derived from Alicante, loose, or in bags. Spanish Liquorice root is in long, straight, nearly cylindrical, unpeeled pieces, several feet in length, varying in thickness from 1/4 inch to about 1 inch, longitudinally wrinkled, externally greyish brown to dark brown, warty; internally tawny yellow; pliable, tough; texture coarsely fibrous; bark rather thick; wood porous, but dense, in narrow wedges; taste sweet, very slightly acrid. The underground stem which is often present has a similar appearance, but contains a thin pith. That from Alicante is frequently untrimmed and dirty in appearance, but that from Tortosa is usually clean and bright looking.

When peeled, the pieces of root (including runners) are shorter, a pale yellow, slightly fibrous externally, and exhibit no trace of the small dark buds seen on the unpeeled runners here and there. Otherwise it resembles the unpeeled. Nearly all the Russian Liquorice reaching this country has been peeled. It attains a much larger size than the Spanish, and the taste, although sweet, is accompanied by a more or less perceptible but not strong bitterness or acridity. It consists chiefly of roots, not runners, in long often crooked pieces, about 2 inches in thickness, pale yellow externally and internally of a lighter yellow than the Spanish and softer. The size of all cells (when examined microscopically) is seen to be much larger than in the Spanish. [ Top ] ---Extract--- The manufacture of Liquorice Juice, or Extract, is conducted on a liberal scale in Spain, southern France, Sicily, Calabria, Austria, southern Russia, Greece and Asia Minor, but the Extract with which England is supplied is almost exclusively the produce of Calabria, Sicily and Spain; Calabrian Liquorice is generally preferred.

By far the larger part of the Italian and Sicilian crop is now manufactured there and exported in the form of Extract. Spain formerly yielded most of the supply, hence the Extract is still termed 'Spanish Juice,' but that of the first grade has long since depleted to the point of scarcity. The roots and runners of both wild and cultivated plants are taken up in late autumn and stacked through the winter in the cellars and yards of the factories. When required, they are crushed under millstones to a pulp, then transferred to boilers and boiled in water over a naked fire, the decoctions are run off and then evaporated in copper vessels over direct heat, till a suitable consistency is obtained, being constantly stirred to prevent burning. While warm, the mass is taken out and rolled into sticks, stamped and stacked on boards to dry. Vacuum pans and steam power have in some factories replaced the more simple methods. The sticks vary in size, but are commonly about 1 inch in diameter and 6 or 7 inches in length and when imported are usually wrapped in bay leaves. At one end they are stamped with the maker's name or mark.

Stick Liquorice is very commonly impure, either from carelessness in its preparation, or from the fraudulent addition of other substances, such as starch, sand, carbonaceous matter, etc. Small particles of copper are also sometimes found in it. Several varieties of Stick Liquorice are met with in English commerce, the most famous is the Solazzi Juice, manufactured at Corigliano, a small town of Calabria in the Gulf of Toranto. The juice is also imported in a black form, having while warm and soft been allowed to run into the wooden cases of about 2 cwts. each, in which it is exported. This juice, known as Liquorice Paste, is largely imported from Spain and Asia Minor, but on account of a certain bitterness is unsuited for its use as a sweetmeat or in medicine, and is principally employed in the preparation of tobacco for chewing and smoking. Extract of Liquorice in rolls has a black colour, is somewhat glossy and has a sharp and shining fracture. Some small cavities are found in the interior.

The product of the different manufacturers of Stick Liquorice differ from one another not only in size, but often in the odour and taste; while some specimens are almost purely sweet, others are persistently acrid, rendering them unsuitable for medicinal purposes, for which they must be almost devoid of acridity. Hard Extract of Liquorice, as described, is essentially different in composition and properties to the Extract of Liquorice of the British Pharmacopceia, which is entirely soluble in cold water, whereas the so-called Spanish Juice, when treated with cold water, leaves a large residue undissolved, retaining the shape of the stick. The amount soluble in cold water varies considerably and reaches in the best brands about 70 or 75 per cent. The United States and nearly all other Pharmacopoeias recognize the commercial Extract of the root of G. glabra, but the British Pharmacopoeia does not, and gives a process for making an extract which somewhat resembles the purified Extract of Liquorice of the United States Pharmacopoeia.

For the Liquid Extract of Liquorice, the British Pharmacopceiadirects the exhaustion of the Liquorice root with two successive portions of cold water, using each time 50 fluid ounces for 20 OZ. of the drug and allowing the mixture to macerate for 24 hours before expressing. The mixed infusions are heated to boiling point, strained through flannel and evaporated until the liquid has acquired, when cold, a specific gravity of 1.2, one-fourth of its volume of alcohol is added, and the mixture is set aside for 12 hours, after which it is filtered. It has a yellowish-brown colour and a pure sweet taste, free from all acridity. [ Top ] ---Constituents--- The chief constituent of Liquorice root, to which its sweet taste is due, is Glycyrrhizin (6 to 8 per cent), obtainable in the form of a sweet, white crystalline powder, consisting of the calcium and potassium salts of glycyrrhizic acid.

The drug also contains sugar, starch (29 per cent), gum, protein, fat (0.8 per cent), resin, asparagin (2 to 4 per cent), a trace of tannin in the outer bark of the root, yellow colouring matter, and 0.03 of volatile oil. The amount of Glycyrrhizin present in Extract of Liquorice varies from 5 to 24 per cent, and the amount of moisture from 8 to 17 per cent. Upon ignition, the extract yields from 5 to 9 per cent of ash. The roots of G. glandulifera and echinata also contain in addition, Glycyrmarin, a bitter principle occurring mostly in the bark. Glycyrrhizin, or a similar substance, has been obtained from other plants, viz. from the rhizome of Polypodium vulgare, the leaves of Myrrhis odorata, and the bark of Lucuma glycyphloea. [ Top ] ---Medicinal Action and Uses--- The action of Liquorice is demulcent, moderately pectoral and emollient.

It is a popular and well-known remedy for coughs, consumption and chest complaints generally, notably bronchitis, and is an ingredient in almost all popular cough medicines on account of its valuable soothing properties. The Extract enters into the composition of cough lozenges and pastilles, with sedatives and expectorants. It is largely used in conjunction with infusion of linseed in the treatment of irritable cough, sore throat and laryngitis, and an infusion made by boiling 1 OZ. of the bruised root deprived of its bark, with 1 pint of water for a few minutes, may be employed in the treatment of sore throat and in catarrhal conditions of the urinary intestinal tracts. Beach mentions the following recipe as being used by the late Dr. Malone, of London, and speaks most highly of its efficacy: 'Take a large teaspoonful of Linseed, 1 ounce of Liquorice root, and 1/4 lb. of best raisins. Put them into 2 quarts of soft water and simmer down to 1 quart. Then add to it 1/4 lb. of brown sugar candy and a tablespoonful of white wine vinegar or lemon juice.

Drink 1/2 pint when going to bed and take a little whenever the cough is troublesome.' (N.B. - It is best to add the vinegar to that quantity which is required for immediate use.) Fluid Extract of Liquorice is employed almost exclusively as a vehicle for disguising the taste of nauseous medicines, having a remarkable power of converting the flavour of acrid or bitter drugs, such as Mezereon, Quinine or Cascara. The powdered root is useful in pill-making on account of its absorbent qualities, being used to impart stiffness to pill masses and to prevent the adhesion of pills. As a remedial agent, powdered Liquorice root has been almost entirely replaced by the extract, though it is used in the well-known Compound Liquorice Powder, the mild laxative in which Senna and Fennel are the other ingredients. It is added mainly on account of its sweetness and emollient qualities, the action of the powder being mainly due to the Senna contained. Liquorice was prescribed by early physicians from the time of Hippocrates, in cases of dropsy, to prevent thirst, for which it is an excellent thing, though probably the only sweet substance that has this effect.

It is thought, however, that the property does not actually belong to the saccharine juice, but that if a piece of the root be chewed till all the juice is extracted, there remains a bitter, which acts on the salivary glands, and this may contribute to remove thirst. The sugar of Liquorice may safely be taken by diabetic patients. On the whole, Liquorice as a domestic medicine is far more largely used on the Continent than in Great Britain. It is much used in China and largely produced (both L. glabra and L. echinata) in some of the northern provinces, a variety of medicinal preparations being employed, not only as possessing tonic, alterative and expectorant properties, but also for the rejuvenating and highly nutritive qualities attributed to it. It was recommended by Gervase Markham, a noted authority on husbandry and farriery in the early part of the seventeenth century, for the treatment of certain horses' ailments. [ Top ] ---Preparations and Dosages--- Powdered root, 1/2 to 1 drachm. Fluid extract, 1 to 4 drachms. Comp.

powder, B.P., 1 to 2 drachms. Solid extract, 1 drachm. Comp. lozenges, U.S.P. Solid extract in stick form, known as Liquorice Juice. Liquorice is also largely used by brewers, being added to porter and stout to give thickness and blackness. Block Liquorice is employed in the manufacture of tobacco for smoking and chewing. According to the United States press, a new use for Liquorice Root has lately been discovered, the waste root being now utilized for the manufacture of boards for making boxes. After extraction of the Liquorice, the crushed root was formerly considered a waste product and destroyed by burning, but under a recently discovered process this refuse can now be made into a chemical wood pulp and pressed into a board that is said to have satisfactory resisting qualities and strength.

Black beauty: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's liquorice recipes | Life and style | The Guardian Black beauty: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's liquorice recipes Liquorice isn't just a treat from the sweet shop Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's pigeon with star anise, cabbage and noodles: 'The sweet pungency of star anise is wonderful with red meats.' Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardian Friday 11 October 2013 16.00 EDT First published on Friday 11 October 2013 16.00 EDT Share on Messenger Close I have fond memories of liquorice. Not real liquorice, the woody root of Glycyrrhiza glabra (how do you pronounce that?) that's prized both medicinally and as a flavouring. No, when I think of liquorice, I think of good old-fashioned, lip-blackening, paid-for-with-your-own-pocket-money sweets: bootlaces and allsorts and the plump coin of a Pontefract cake . Liquorice is a love-it-or-hate-it thing.

As a child, if you loved it, then you lucked out: you got to eat the rejects of all the kids who didn't. The flavour doesn't try too hard to please: although sweet, it's also dark, almost burnt, intense, a bit edgy. That spicy savour comes at least partly from liquorice root, but it's almost invariably complemented by another flavour: aniseed. And it's anise's curious, complex, sweet-tangy character that defines many liquorice confections. Even if you never could stand Black Jacks , don't dismiss aniseedy flavours. Just try them outside the realm of the sweet shop. True aniseeds, which grow on a pretty, white-flowered plant, get their extraordinary flavour from anethole, a very sweet compound that has a cool, menthol sharpness. It is found in other plants, too, some of which just happen to be among my favourite flavourings: notably fennel, sweet cicely and star anise, which is amazingly versatile in both sweet and savoury recipes. Star anise has a pungent and penetrating quality – too much really is too much – but used judiciously, it has a wonderful seasoning effect.

Infuse the pods in marinades, or throw them into meaty stews or fruit compotes, where they'll leave a rosy flush of sweet, aromatic warmth. If you're cooking long and slow, drop in a whole pod; for a more immediate and intense effect – in a dressing or marinade, say – crack open a few points from a star anise and release the shiny seeds inside. Crush these and the intense essential oils of aniseed are immediately in play. Star anise is also the defining component of Chinese five-spice, a delicious and distinctive seasoning. Just a pinch will turn a dressing for a duck salad or a thrown-together stir-fry into something rich and somehow authentically oriental. True anise, meanwhile, is a tiny brown seed that can be used much like its sister spice caraway: toast it gently, crush to a powder and add to cakes and biscuits. It's also great with fruit, notably apples. And the leaves and seed pods of sweet cicely are natural sweeteners; they can't replace sugar altogether, but throw a few chopped pods into the filling, and you can certainly reduce the sugar content of a fruit crumble or pie.

Sometimes it's fun to get an anise hit with those succulent black sweets, too. I don't see the sweet shop as a reliable source of great food, but liquorice can be a nifty ingredient from time to time. Lisa Allen , chef at Northcote Manor, cooked a fabulous dish of venison with damsons and a liquorice glaze on my Three Good Things show last year, the glaze being simply melted-down Pontefract cakes. This week's recipe for liquorice ice cream follows that lead, and is definitely worth digging into your piggy bank for. Pigeon with star anise, cabbage and noodles The sweet pungency of star anise is wonderful with red meats. This dish is best if you marinate the meat for at least 12 hours. Serves two.

4 pigeon breasts ½ small cabbage (about 250g), trimmed and shredded 2 nests quick-cook egg noodles For the marinade 1 medium-hot red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced 4 star anise, roughly bashed (or just the seeds from inside, crushed) 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped 150ml apple juice 2 small or 1 large shallot, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced Put the pigeon and all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. When you're ready to cook, put a large pan of water on to boil. Lift the breasts from their marinade, brush clean and wipe dry with kitchen paper (reserve the marinade). Drop the cabbage and noodles into the boiling water, cook for two to three minutes, until the noodles are done, and drain. Meanwhile, put a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add a little sunflower oil and, when the oil is hot, sear the breasts for a minute on each side if you like them quite pink inside, or two minutes a side for medium.

Transfer to a warmed dish to rest while you finish off. Over a medium heat, tip the marinade into the pigeon pan, bring to a simmer, and cook for three to five minutes, until the shallots are tender. Add the cabbage and noodles and toss in the sauce to reheat. Lift the cabbagey noodles on to warmed plates, cut the pigeon breasts into thick slices, arrange on top of the noodles, and serve at once. Apple and anise cake Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's apple and anise cake: 'Anise's aromatic edge enhances the fruit beautifully.' Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardian Anise has an intense natural sweetness, while its aromatic edge enhances fruit beautifully. The seeds aren't as widely available as some spices, but you can get them online (try steenbergs.co.uk ). Caraway seeds also work well here. Serves 10-12. Butter, for greasing 200g soft dark brown sugar 3 large eggs 500g eating apples, peeled, cored, quartered and thickly sliced 25g demerara sugar Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3.

Butter and base-line a 20cm round springform tin. Lightly toast the anise seeds, bash them up in a pestle and mortar, then transfer to a small pan with the sultanas and lemon juice. Heat until steaming, then set aside to plump up. In a bowl, combine the almonds, flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixer (or by hand), beat the butter and sugar until really light and fluffy: this will take several minutes in a mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour mix with each, and amalgamating each egg thoroughly before adding the next. Fold in first the remaining flour mix, then the sultanas, anise and any pan juices, and finally the apples. Transfer to the tin and scatter the demerara over the top. Bake for an hour and a quarter, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a rack and allow to cool completely. Orange and liquorice ice-cream The subtle liquorice flavour here blends beautifully with the warm tones of orange.

Enjoy it as it is, or with fruit puddings such as baked apples. I like Taveners Pontefract cakes, which are still made in Pontefract. Serves four. 100g plain liquorice sweets such as sticks or Pontefract cakes, chopped small 200ml whole milk Finely grated zest of 1 orange ½ vanilla pod, split along its length 4 large egg yolks 50g caster sugar Put the liquorice in a pan with 200ml water, bring to a boil, turn the heat low and simmer very gently, stirring often, for 15 minutes, until the liquorice has mostly melted and you have a dark syrup (don't worry if it doesn't dissolve completely). Turn off the heat but leave in the pan. Put the milk, cream and orange zest in another pan. Scrape out the vanilla seeds and add to the pot, along with the scraped half-pod. Bring to just below boiling, then set aside to infuse. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl.

Whisk in the hot cream, then return to the pan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring all the time, until the custard is just below boiling and has thickened. Pour on to the melted liquorice, stir for a minute or so, then pour through a sieve into a jug. Cut out a piece of clingfilm or baking parchment to sit on the surface of the custard, to stop a skin forming, leave to cool, then chill. Churn in an ice-cream machine until soft-set, transfer to a freezer container and freeze solid. (Don't worry if it's a bit grainy when frozen: this is because of the gelatine in the liquorice.) Alternatively, pour into a plastic container and freeze for an hour, until the sides start to get solid. Mash with a fork, mixing the frozen sides into the liquid centre, then freeze for another hour. Repeat at hourly intervals until soft-set, then leave to freeze solid. Before serving, let it soften slightly. • Go to rivercottage.net for the latest news from River Cottage HQ.

Liquorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra Seeds Description Details The liquorice plant is a legume (related to beans and peas) and is native to the Mediterranean and cultivated in countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy. It is one of the most commonly used herbs in Western herbal medicine and has a very long history of use as both a medicine and as flavouring. Extracts of the root are used to flavour tobacco, beer, soft drinks and pharmaceutical products, often to disguise unpleasant flavours. Fresh English liquorice is bright yellowish brown; the root being soft and pliable. The root is harvested in the autumn and is dried for later use. The aroma is strongly reminiscent of anise or fennel. The taste is dominantly sweet, warm and medical. Liquorice plants are not particularly ornamental, with a disquieting habit of folding up their leaves at the end of the day. This perennial plant grows 90 to 180cm (36 to 72in) tall, it an extensive branching root system. The roots are straight pieces of wrinkled, fibrous wood, which are long and cylindrical and grow horizontally underground.

Licorice roots are brown on the outside and yellow on the inside. In our northerly climate the plant rarely flowers, this benefits it's sweet flavour, as once the plant flowers the sweetness of the root is reduced. They are suitable plants to continue to be grown in large pots. This will control their root system and make it simple to access the roots to utilise if desired. Liquorice requires a deep well cultivated fertile moisture-retentive soil for good root production. Prefers a sandy soil with abundant moisture and does not flourish in clay. Slightly alkaline conditions produce the best plants. The plant thrives in a maritime climate and are hardy to about -15°C (5°F) Sowing: Sow in spring or autumn under glass Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and sow spring or autumn at around 20°C (68°F) in a greenhouse or cold frame. Seed germination is low and irregular. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on for their first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out in well-fertilised soil after last frost in deeply dug fertile moist soil in full sun.

Cultivation: Plants are slow to settle in and do not produce much growth in their first two years after being moved. The young growth is susceptible to damage by slugs and so the plant will require some protection for its first few years. Each root if unrestricted can reach a depth of 90 to 120cm (3 to 4 ft) and can extend to 10m (25 ft). For good root development and harvest prevent plant from flowering. One acre of land can produce 4 to 5 tons every 3 to 4 years. Propagation: Divide the plant in spring or autumn. Each division must have at least one growth bud. Autumn divisions can either be replanted immediately or stored in clamps until the spring and then be planted out. Pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a cold frame until they are established before planting them out in the spring or summer. Harvesting: Dig up the plant in early autumn, cut part of the roots off and replant the plant, it will continue to grow. Cut the root into 20cm (8in) pieces and dry for later use. Edible Uses: The root can be used raw or used as flavouring.

The dried root is often used for chewing; it is excellent for teething children and also as a tooth cleaner. A tea made from the roots is an excellent thirst quencher. The powdered root is also used as a sweetener in other herb teas. Glycyrrhizin is said to be up to fifty times sweeter than sugar. In todays confectionery it is often mixed with sugar and treacle. Medicinal Uses: Liquorice supplements are made from the roots and underground stems of the plant. The health properties associated with Liquorice are well documented - it contains a natural expectorant so it can help soothe coughs and colds; it offers digestive relief by decreasing the amount of stomach acid and can help reduce stress and anxiety. Excessive consumption is known to be toxic to the liver, cause water retention and raised blood pressure. Origin: Glycyrrhiza glabra, commonly known as Liquorice grows wild around the Mediterranean and Asia. It is cultivated in countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy. Nomenclature: Dioscorides gave the plant its botanical name Glycyrrhiza.

It is taken from the Greek glukos meaning 'sweet' (from which we also get the word glucose) and riza meaning 'root'. Its 13th century English name was Lycorys, a corruption of glycyrrhiza. The species name glabra means 'smooth' or 'hairless' In many parts of the world including the U.S. the alternative spelling of Licorice is used. The root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, the plant from the Mediterranean, including Spain, is sweet enough to be sucked in its raw state. In northern counties of England it is colloquially known as Spanish, supposedly because Spanish monks grew liquorice root at Rievaulx Abbey near Thirsk in Yorkshire. The dried root of Liquorice were sold as sweets, and commonly called Spanish Wood Stick or Liquorice Wood. They were one of the few sweets sold during the WW2 and during rationing. History: European liquorice is a plant with a rich historical tradition. The use of liquorice dates to ancient times; liquorice roots were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen (1358 BC).

The ancient Romans and Greeks used liquorice for medicinal uses, such as in coughing syrups or against stomach ulcers. In 1305 Edward the First placed a tax on liquorice imports to finance the repair of the London Bridge. Liquorice has been grown in England since the Dark Ages and records from the early 16th century show liquorice being grown in fields around Pontefract in Yorkshire. It was brought from the Mediterranean by Dominican monks who settled in the area around Pontefract Castle. The plants didn't flower in the cold climate, but what really mattered were the roots. The Dominicans used the liquorice juice extracted from the roots of the plant primarily as a medicine, for easing coughs and stomach complaints. The famous Pontefract cakes, also known as pomfrets, were born in 1614 when Sir George Saville first applied a stamp to the small, round liquorice cakes. Initially, these cakes were consumed as a medicine, then, in 1760, an enterprising apothecary named George Dunhill hit upon the idea of adding sugar to the already famous Pontefract Cakes, turning a primarily medicinal product into an immensely popular sweet.

Mr Dunhill then set up his famous firm, and in the following years it became one of the most renowned English manufacturers of liquorice. Cultivation continued until well into the 19th century, when it finally petered out because of the competition from cheaper imported raw liquorice. How to make Pontefract Cakes: The real Pontefract Cakes are made to a special recipe, but here is the basic process. • The liquorice roots are cleaned, ground and then boiled. • Sugar is added, along with a thickening agent (usually starch, although Gum Arabic was used originally). • This raw mass is allowed to dry and cool for about a week, then cut into blocks weighing around seven kg each. • These blocks are pulled out into a long strand, which is chopped into small rounds by a machine. The rounds are then placed in a press where they are flattened in a mould that applies the traditional Pontefract Cake stamp. Additional Information

Question: Which 'cake' is a small, circular black sweet made of liquorice?
Answer: Pontefract Cake