Natural Licorice Candy: The phrase “all natural” is used a lot in foods today. How do you know when a candy, especially licorice, really is all natural, or is just marketing spin? There are a number of things to look for.
Black licorice candy comes from the root of the licorice plant which grows naturally in a number of regions around the world. This root is ground into a fine powder, and this powder is used to provide the unique licorice flavor for black licorice candy.
Very few people would enjoy the potent flavor of licorice root by itself. However, about 300 years ago, the Dutch capitalized on the unique flavor of licorice root, combining this natural root with other ingredients to make the candy we know today. However, over the years licorice manufacturers have added ingredients to artificially sweeten, dilute, and change the flavor of licorice candy, making it difficult to find REAL black licorice candy, and undermining the natural benefits of the licorice root.
Black Licorice is Naturally gluten Free: Licorice root has no flour or wheat. Some licorice makers have added wheat flour to their licorice candy to cut costs. However, there are companies that make real black licorice that is also gluten free. When looking for gluten free black licorice, the best alternatives to wheat flour are gum acacia and tapioca. Both of these natural materials provide a terrific text for for black licorice, and both are 100% gluten free.
The licorice root is naturally very sweet, meaning that real licorice is a healthy, low sugar treat. Most manufacturers use a combination of high-fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners, with only trace amounts of licorice root, to make their candy. When buying black licorice be sure to avoid brands with very high sugar content and very low licorice content. Real, all natural black licorice candy requires very low sugar to sweeten. Focus on brands that use alternative sweeteners such as beet sugar, and use small amounts.
All natural black licorice candy has one more healthy giveaway: a high licorice content. You can spot heavily artificial licorice by the percent of their formula made up of licorice root, which you can see by the percent of your daily requirements of iron. The licorice root is naturally very high in iron. As a result, all natural blak licorice candy will have a lot of iron, and represent a healthy portion of your daily dietary iron requirements. Most brands will indicate their licorice is “not a significant source of iron.” All natural licorice using real licorice root will stand out because it will have at least 5% of your daily dietary requirements of iron per serving.
For more information about how to find real all natural black licorice candy, visit our website at www.chateaudlanz.com.
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