Licorice Root Chewing Stick

The “Who Knew” of Licorice Root When John Josselyn brought the licorice plant to Boston from England in the sixteenth century, he described it as a “precious herbs. He shared the root with Native Americans as a fermented licorice drink that was a curative for colds and a root to chew so clean the teeth. The Blackfoot Indians later used the root to cure earaches. As for the plant: licorice is an amiable plant that prefers sun but can handle shade and dies back in the fall so it’s not affected by frost. Like Native Americans, European Americans considered licorice medicinal, used for everything from a diuretic to a cure for respiratory ailments. Post Civil War, American plantation owners of the South had another use of licorice in mind. Licorice was an important flavoring for tobacco. In fact, by 1876, three-fourths of all licorice entering the country was not for candy or tea but for tobacco. One article published in 1888 explained: “It may be surprising to know that the United States uses annually 20,000,000 pounds of licorice in her tobacco factories…Besides what is used in tobacco factories, the article is largely used for other purposes. This country annually pays out about 7,000,000--a big sum that would be at home if farmers would only grow the plant.” The article went on to state how easy the plant is to grow, harvest and sell but to no avail. Licorice growing remained a cottage industry. So why didn’t licorice take off as an American crop? Southern farmers needed literal seed money to grow the crops. And the Northerners, who help the purse strings, weren’t about to help. And so…we enjoy licorice as a candy, we chew the root for fun, and we enjoy licorice tea…most of it grown somewhere else.