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Dutch liquorice is distinct from liquorice of other (European) countries because of the use of the salt ammonium chloride (old Latin: sal ammoniac which became salmiak). Therefore, the German ‘Lakritzen’, English ‘liquorice’, Italian ‘liquirita’ and French ‘réglisse’ have a completely different taste. Scandinavian liquorice also contains ammonium chloride and therefore this kind of liquorice is most close to the Dutch liquorice.
The production process of Dutch liquorice is mentioned below. The composition of liquorice varies per kind of liquorice.
Production process of Dutch liquorice
Extract from the roots of the liquorice plant
The production process of liquorice starts with the making of ‘block liquorice’ (liquorice in the form of a square). This is made from the roots of the liquorice plant. Liquorice root is already known for centuries, not for its taste, but for the treatment of a cough and bronchitis. Glycyrrhizic acid, a certain substance in the roots of the liquorice plant has the specific flavor of liquorice. The aromatisants and flavoring characteristics of the liquorice root are also present in fennel and anise.To obtain the liquorice roots the liquorice plant is carefully dug up after four years of growth. The roots may go 4 meters deep under the ground. When the plant is dug up part of the roots is cut off. The plant is replanted and can undisturbedly grow for a year. The roots that are cut off are dried in the sun to avoid the growth of mould. Afterwards the dry roots are ground, frayed and made to pulp together with water. This pulp is filtered and concentrated. The concentrated extract is poured into blocks and is dried. The final product is appropriately called ‘block liquorice’.
Dissolving block liquorice
The manufacturer of liquorice buy the block liquorice. To make it processable it is dissolved in warm water. Because block liquorice is 50 times more sweet than granulated sugar, only a little bit is needed. The final percentage of block liquorice in liquorice is 3%.Mixing
The other ingredients are mixed with each other without the block liquorice. Water, sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, gelatin and modified starch or gum arabic are put in a kettle.In some kinds of liquorice gum arabic is still used. Gum arabic is a kind of resin from the acacia tree. It gives liquorice its typical gumminess. During the oil crisis of 1973 there was a gum arabic shortage. Modified starch appeared to be a good alternative. Besides that, it was much cheaper than gum arabic. Therefore, modified starch is used in most kinds of liquorice.
Heating
When the ingredients are mixed thoroughfully they are heated. In 5 seconds they are heated to 135°C. The starch stiffens due to the high temperature. This causes the soft-hard structure. Except for the starch, the amount of sugar and glucose-fructose syrup also influences the structure. In general, liquorice contains 30-60% sugar and glucose-fructose syrup.Homogenizing
To improve the mixture and smoothness of the blend it is homogenized. The mixture is pressed with high pressure through a narrow room or tube. There is more information about homogenizing under ‘technology’ in the left menu.Vacuuming
The mixture is vacuumed in order to remove possible air bubbles.Cooling down
After the vacumation the temperature of the mixture is still high. The temperature has to be low before the final ingredients are added. With high temperatures the ingredients are damaged, which changes the flavor and smell. In cooling the mixture the added water is released as steam. This steam is released. The mixture that is obtained is called dough because the material coherence is comparable to the dough of cookies.Mixing
After cooling down the dissolved block liquorice (3%), the salt ammonium chloride and possible coloring and flavoring agents are added to the dough. For sweet liquorice 1% of ammonium chloride is added, for salt liquorice this percentage is 4-5%.Casting
When there has been mixed enough the liquorice candies can be formed. The shapes are punched in a plate with flour.These shapes are made by sprinkling an even layer of corn starch powder on a plate. This layer is 1-2 centimeters. On the powder a hard plate (of for example plaster) with candy shapes is pushed so that the shapes of these candies is put into the flour.
Corn starch has the capacity to absorb and transfer liquid without changing the shape, instead it retains its shape. Besides that, it curbs a too fast hardening of the liquorice, which is not wanted. Another advantage is that after the candies dried they can be easily taken out of the powder. After this the corn starch can be used again.
The process of casting happens completely automatically. A dosing machine casts exactly the same amount of mixture in each of the shapes.
Stacking
The layers of starch powder and the warm mixture of liquorice are stacked on top of each other. The large pile of several meters high is brought to a room for conditioning.Conditioning
For 36 hours the liquorices are kept in a temperature of 65°C in the conditioning room. During the conditioning the liquorices dry and harden. The temperature of 65°C is still to high, but the liquorices dry already well. With a lower temperature the drying process goes to fast and the liquorices may crack.Toppling
After conditioning the liquorices are pulled out of the plates with corn starch powder. To attain this goal they are shaken on a sieve. The powder goes through the seave while the dull liquorices remain on the sieve. The powder is sieved again and dried. After that it can be used again for the casting of new liquorices.Blowing
The sticking corn starch powder is blown of by a blower. After blowing the liquorices are cleansed of powder, but they have a dull color. These dull liquorices are not wanted.Glazing
In order to give the liquorices a glazing effect they are put in a drum in which also a brightener is put. This brightener can be a vegetable oil or beeswax. By turning the drum the brightener is divided equally. In the same way a layer of sugar or liquorice powder can be put on the liquorices. But first a humid layer of brightener should be put on. This makes sure that the powder layer does not fasten well enough or come loose.Conditioning
The liquorices are conditioned for the second time to harden further. The temperature in this conditioning room is set on 18°C. The liquorices remain here for 1-2 days. After conditioning they are ready to be packed.Packing
There are many possibilities for packing liquorices. It is for example packed in boxes, bags and bulk. It is important that the packing is waterproof. The liquorices may dry out when liquids diffuse the package. There are also cardboard boxes with liquorices. The cardboard is coated with a plastic or aluminum layer to avoid liquid diffusion.Due to the high percentage of sugar and because of this a low aw, the liquorices have micro-biologically an unlimited storage life. However, liquorice can dry out etc. In a closed package the storage life of liquorice is more than a year.
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