Licorice, a valuable resource for both food and medicine, has gained recognition for its versatile applications. It finds extensive use not only in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries but also serves as a sweetener and antioxidant in everyday foods. Furthermore, licorice and its extracts have shown potential as physiologically active ingredients in health foods. Ongoing research focuses on exploring its various applications in the food sector, including the substitution of sucrose with glycyrrhizin to develop low-sugar or sugar-free products. Additionally, investigations are underway to assess the efficacy of licorice extract in food preservation and enhancing freshness. Moreover, the development of licorice extract as a health food supplement is another area of great interest. Efforts are also being directed towards isolating specific components of licorice, such as glycyrrhizin, licorice flavonoids, and polysaccharides, to understand their physiological functions. By delving deeper into these aspects, licorice continues to demonstrate its immense potential as a valuable resource for the food and medicine industries.
Licorice is known for its active ingredient glycyrrhizic acid which has a sweet taste and is 200 to 250 times sweeter than sucrose. Pure glycyrrhizic acid is a crystalline powder that is soluble in hot water but insoluble in ether. It is widely used in the Chinese medicine and food industries. Licorice extract powder is a functional sweetener synergist that is made by processing and pulverizing licorice extract into a fine powder. It has a natural sweet taste that enhances flavor and has a sweetness of 60-150 times that of sucrose. This makes it ideal for healthy and sugar-free foods. It also helps to mask bad aftertaste and improve taste while enhancing fragrance. It can be used in a variety of food products such as seasonings, soy sauce, pickled products, frozen desserts, chewing gum and many more. The method of use is simple and just requires dissolving it in water at room temperature before adding it to food during the production process.
