‘I’ll swap you two of my rolls for three of your spogs.’ That was the sort of thing you’d hear round the tuckshop in morning break when we schoolboys swapped and bartered our Liquorice Allsorts. We all had our favourites, spogs being the round pink or blue jelly buttons that had a coating of tiny sugar grains, while the pink or yellow coconut rolls featured a plug of liquorice surrounded with coconut ice.
Another schoolboy favourite was Pontefract Cakes, allegedly one of, if not the,oldest commercial sweets in the world. In the 11th century, Benedictine monks introduced liquorice to Pontefract, Yorkshire. At that time, the plant’s roots were commonly chewed to soothe sore throats, ease coughs and help digestion. Pontefract Cakes have been more or less unchanged for more than two centuries, dating back to 1779 when a local chemist, George Dunhill, invented them. Liquorice was grown in the grounds of Pontefract Castle and the roots stored in the cellars. That’s why each Pontefract Cake is embossed with an image of the castle. Business thrived through generations of Dunhills until 1994, when it was acquired by the confectionery giant Haribo.
The hard-up among us who couldn’t afford two ounces, let alone a quarter pound of Allsorts, could buy plain liquorice by the inch, cut to measure from a huge coil of it. We’d hide it under our shirt, taking surreptitious bites during school lessons. Or if you had the skill and patience, you could try to unwind a tempting liquorice wheel.
Although liquorice is no longer grown commercially in Britain, you can grow your own by buying a packet of 20 seeds for £1.65 from Just Seeds based in Wrexham. Mind you, it takes about four years for the roots to grow large enough to harvest, but after that you’ll get a regular supply every year. Liquorice plants are part of the bean family and are perennials that grow up to 3ft high with purply violet-blue flowers. Their long and tuberous roots can reach up to 40ft.
Its historical roots are equally deep. The Greeks were among the first to document its use, with physicians like Hippocrates mentioning its healing properties. Ancient civilisations, such as the Egyptians, valued it for its medicinal properties. It was even found among the treasures in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Apparently, both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar gave liquorice to their troops to chew on. Napoleon Bonaparte was partial to it, always keeping some in his pocket as a remedy for indigestion and colds. Even on his deathbed, he requested a drink of liquorice root mixed with water.
Today you might be better off downing a Black Daiquiri cocktail made with the Italian Liquorice Flavour Antica Sambuca. Pour one part of Antica Sambuca Black, one part white rum, a little less of lime juice and a couple of spoons of sugar into a shaker with ice. Give it a whirl and strain into a chilled glass. You can feel the velvety liquorice doing its job while you raise your glass to toast Pontefract Castle… in spite of Henry IV imprisoning Richard II there in 1399, where he is thought to have starved to death on or around Valentine’s Day in 1400 – without the comfort of a stick of liquorice.
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