Go to the Recipe: Licorice
I love this!
What is the dark cherry concentrate? It sounds like I should be able to make it.
Licorice! I was so excited, but my enthusiasm was short lived. As usual Chef Steps provides great instructions but fails when it comes to sourcing ingredients. They put the recipe together so one could assume they purchased the ingredient somewhere. Couldn't they link their vendor in the instructions? For example, something simple like Essential Anise Oil, is stubbed. When I search for it there are several sites that offer this but it is for aroma therapy. Is that food grade? Not only that, but it seems there are two types of anise oil. Oils are made from both star anise and anise seed. Does it make a difference? I don't mind buying esoteric ingredients as long as I am sure it is the correct one.
I ran across LorAnn Oils when trying to find where to source oils for the gummy bears. http://shop.lorannoils.com/templates/group_ProductSelect.aspx?GroupGuid=3
www.cookingdistrict.com has all the ingredients for this stuff. No more excuses people!
How will the recipe be affected if the Malic Acid is left out?
Kojak Edwards- I'm guessing that they are calling for Anise oil not Star Anise as they are different ingredients and would probably specify. Also, unless I am mistaken you can click the hyperlink on the ingredients and then click learn more for sources on most things.
Would you be able to sub black strap molasses for pomegranate molasses or carob molasses?
Yes that should still work out great.
It won't make a difference, I don't even use it in the anise flavored licorice. What flavor are you making?
Hoping someone can clarify...the main ingredient list specifies Anise Essential Oil....Step 3 calls for Anise Extract. 1. Are you referring to the same ingredient? 2. When I search for Anise Essential Oil, I find lots of products used in aroma therapy....is this the ingredient you are talking about, or should I be shopping for a baking extract (like vanilla extract)?
Thanks!
Maybe you could just get some star anise and boil it in water, strain it then reduce down to the amount of water you need for the gelatine? Strong aniseed flavour without buying extra stuff that's hard to find. Just get the flavour in somewhere, somehow?
Hi all, www.naturesflavors.com has a bunch of food grade oils and extracts. cool company. enjoy!
Star anise and anise seeds are two different flavors. You also might want to look into using alcohol as a solvent instead of water. Most essential oils or essances use alcohol. Vanilla is around 50 to 75% alcohol.
It's a concentrated juice from the prunus serontina tree. A wild cherry tree. I have a few trees on my property, but the idea of trying to harvest a bunch of 1/4" berries, cooking them and then straining......Google and then buy. Way easier.
@grant For the ginger licorice recipe, is the omission of bread flour in the ingredients list a mistake?
Yes! Thank you.
Does the Ginger recipe also use Black Strap Molasses?
No, it does not.
Somewhere on this site I found a source for anise essential oil. It came from aftelier.com. It cost me about $23.00 delivered. I should be able to get 10 batches of licorice wonderment from that small bottle.
I made my first batch today. The only difficult part was weighing out .4g of anise oil. Everything else came together quite easily. I did not use 2"x6" metal pan for the mould. I did have a silicone ice cube tray . Each cube of licorice measured about 1 1/4" in all directions. After chilling in the refrigerator, each cube popped right out. I then quartered each cube. I got 7 cubes in that batch, so 28 total bites of licorice. I figured that batch cost between $3.50 to $4.00. I could probably buy licorice cheaper in the store, but I then couldn't feel pleased with myself that I made it.
Is anise essential oil the same as anise extract? If not, how much anise extract would I have to weigh to equal .4g of oil? Also, if I omitted the caramel coloring, would that mess up the fluid:solid ratio too much, i.e., require me to use less flour?
is there a substitute for bloom gelatin? The sites mentioned are helpful but shipping to Canada is expensive and takes forever!
is there a substitute for the caramel colouring??
OK, I just made a batch and it's setting in the fridge - I also used silicon molds. wish me luck ;-)
A little late to the party here but I found a company called Elite Naturals for sour cherry juice- cold pressed from 100% Cherries, no sugar not from concentrate. It can be drunk straight and its got tons of antioxidants - there's so much flavor I'm debating killing this fresh taste by trying to cook it down to make it even more concentrated. In any case if you live in NYC I purchased it from the local Fairway market- (125th in Harlem) best part a quart is 6.50!
Black licorice was my preference!
Made the cherry version and it turned out great. I'm curious if BBQ sauce could be substituted similar to the MC recipe. I believe that calls for HM pectin but would gelatin work similarly?
What could you sub bread flour with if you want a Gluten Free version? Rice flour? Bob's all purpose GF? I see that Bread Flour has a high protein content, which is probably important...?
First off, let me say, great recipe. My family was not a huge fan of black licorice until I made this, and now I cant keep it in the house. Quick question though. I ran out of 170 bloom gelatin (made too much licorice) and am now awaiting more to arrive in the mail. In the mean time, I have an abundance of other blooms. Is there a modification that can be made to use another bloom and still get this great texture? Thanks so much, love you guys at ChefSteps.
Gimme gimme gimme!
I'm quite pleased with how easy this was to make (also, that my wife hates licorice, so it's all mine)!!
Thanks Alyson
Sadly I do not live in NYC,
but thank you just the same
L
I too am curious about this Christian.
DId you make a GF version?
Lesley
Hi Christian
I went ahead and made the cherry version of this recipe GF.
It really wasnt that big of a deal. So what I did was follow the recipe using a GF flour blend that I
formulated that had no XG. I also used the minimum amount that this recipe called for. which
in turn made a more gelatinous bite than a licorice bite. Flavour wise the feedback I received was
that I had the classic flavour most wanted from cherry licorice. Oh yes I didnt have malic acid on hand
but I did use citric to taste. I dont know that it would make a huge difference to omit it totally and I alsoused red paste to colour it as that too is what I had on hand.
My plan for the second trial is to add more "flour" and perhaps a small amount of XG to make it
chewier. Beyond that I also intend to bloom the gelatin in the cherry juice instead of water, because I
can. For this one I used knudsons tart cherry juice.
feel free to ask me anything that I might not be clear about here. its difficult to know
what may or may not help.
Lesley.
I did the cherry liorice with Knudsons Tart Cherry juice and it worked out amazing.
Sorry I dont mail order stuff I can but locally, and I dont make
excuses either lol
Have entered the black licorice in cooking at two shows and won first and second prize in A.O.V.
I'm replying upthread to a more recent comment with the same thing, but you could make your own extract if you have access to the star anise (Indian marketplaces have it for a low price). It's dead easy, but takes a long time. Grab a small leak-proof jar and pack it with star anise. Then get a bottle of 80 proof or above neutral grain spirit (vodka is usually the choice, although an overproof white rum or something like Everclear will do). Fill the jar with the alcohol, reserving about 1 cm of space at the top for agitation. Seal the jar and agitate at least once a week for 3 months. Most extracts don't take nearly that long - a quick look at recipes for others call for maybe a week or so, but for some reason star anise takes much longer.
You could make your own extract if you have inexpensive access to the star anise (Indian marketplaces have it for a low price). It's dead easy, but takes a long time. Grab a small leak-proof jar and pack it with star anise. Then get a bottle of 80 proof or above neutral grain spirit (vodka is usually the choice, although an overproof white rum or something like Everclear will do). Fill the jar with the alcohol, reserving about 1 cm of space at the top for agitation. Seal the jar and agitate at least once a week for 3 months. Most extracts don't take nearly that long - a quick look at recipes for others call for maybe a week or so, but for some reason star anise takes much longer.
Can anyone report back on whether they have successfully made this without the caramel coloring, or with a substitute? I have black food coloring but don't know whether that will prove lacking in flavor, and I've also found something online about burning the heck out of sugar and making your own coloring.
Any tips on adding salmiak salt (ie ammonium chloride) to this recipe?
Hi all, my question is about the blooming of the gelatin. I'm using eight 2.5g sheets of of 170 bloom gelatin for the sour cherry licorice. Do I bloom that in the 50g of water called for in the recipe? Or do I bloom off to the side and then add to the 50g of water. That's hardly any water, and I'm having trouble getting all the gelatin submerged in the water.. let alone not having it clump. (I made it anyways and it was delicious!)
Can anyone offer tips on getting the flour into the recipe without it clumping?
I haven't made licorice before but my guess is you would put the flour through a sieve to get rid of any large clumps of flour.
You can incorporate the flour in with an immersion blender to insure there are no clumps.
Thanks very much! i will give that a try... also going to try switching out cherry juice for a mixture of pomegranate molasses and pomegranate juice.
Sift flour and divide in two, don't need to completely dissolve the first half before adding the second. Beat really fast.
I use Parisian essence and slightly less salt. I get a scum form on top, don't know if this is due to the Parisian essence or not but it is easily removed with a hot knife and a clean cloth.
perfect
Guys! I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to know whether you are using extracts or essential oils! they are two VERY different things and I have BOTH in my cabinets. PLEASE don't use these terms interchangeably, You guys are all about precision, please be precise on this for those of us who know the difference but, more importantly, for those who DON'T!
Any suggestion on weight to substitute the anise essential oil with powdered liquorice extract.?
I've got both anise oil and powdered liquorice in the cupboard but think I'd like the flavour of the liquorice better in this recipe.
I would like to cast my licorice in the round fluted-edge style shown with the Sour Cherry Licorice. Anybody know where I can get that mold?
Please let me know how your second trial with xg turns out.
@karon Adams If you bother to read the preamble, they state:
The candy shares a name with licorice root, a plant that, while not botanically related to anise or fennel, has a similar flavor profile. It can be flavored with an extract from the licorice root itself or, as in this recipe, with anise essential oil.
They didn't use the terms interchangeably. ChefSteps is aware of the difference, if you've viewed some of their more recent recipes. They were precise.
Brian, you are incorrect. The statement at the top was a general comment about making licorice candy. Anyone sharing a recipe who is responsible will state whether they are using licorice extract, anise extract or an essential oil. Anise is not from licorice root. They are entirely different plants that have similar flavors. https://thekitchencommunity.org/anise-vs-licorice-whats-the-difference/#:~:text=Whilst%20the%20flavors%20of%20the,or%20aniseed%20as%20a%20flavoring
Seriously?
