The specific taste of licorice comes from licorice root,

which is a root from the licorice branch, Glycyrrhiza glabra,

and belongs to the butterfly flower. Licorice branches are approx. 1 meter

tall and their origins lie in countries around the Mediterranean, such as Greece, Spain, and Italy, or the so-called subtropical areas. The bushes grow best alongside a moist river bed. Licorice branches can also be found in North America and China, but these are from a different kind, the Glycyrrhiza lepidota and the Glycyrrhiza uralensis, respectively. Both kinds are applied in the same fashion as that of Glycyrrhiza glabrra.

Licorice root gets its sweet taste from glycerin. This acid is over fifty times sweeter than sugar. The after taste of glycerin is the typical licorice taste. In the Netherlands, you can buy pieces of licorice root to chew on.

After 4 years of growing the licorice root, its bushes are taken out of the ground by the farmers and their roots are then removed. This takes place in October. By then, the bush has lost all of its leaves and will not grow any further until the rain season in April of the following year. Because the roots are sometimes four meters deep into the ground, harvesting can be a tricky job. Part of the roots are cut off. After which the bush is put into the ground again, so it can grow further. To avoid mold, the cut off roots are dried in the sun. After they have dried the farmer sells the roots to the factory. It is there that they are cut, stripped into long frayed pieces, and made into pulp with water. After filtering, the pulp is thickened into an extract. This extract is poured into containers and dried again. The product that is created is called block licorice. The block licorice is further exported for processing to the licorice, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industry elsewhere in the world.

Block licorice tastes incredibly strong and does not taste like the licorice we know. Because block licorice is so sweet, you only need a very small portion of it for further processing.

This block licorice is then dissolved in water at the licorice factories after which all kinds of ingredients are added to the material to create licorice. First, a mixture is formed with a sweetener (for instance sugar, honey, glucose, or fructose). Then, other substances such as anise oil, laurel, mint, honey, and thickeners are added to the mixture.

In the early days, gum arabic was used as a binding agent. This gum arabic is harvested from the Acacia tree that can only grows in warm countries. , especially in Sudan, Senegal, and the flowing areas of the Nile. The skin of the tree contains cracks of which drops of gum emerge. These drops form thick lumps called gum arabic that are then taken off. By adding this gum the licorice becomes smooth again. Gum arabic is scarce and, therefore, very valuable. It is one of the main reasons why different kinds of starches have been added to licorice as a binding agent, because it is much cheaper. Lastly, color and taste additives are added. These taste additives depend on the kind of licorice that is produced. The colorants that are used are often toffee. If salty licorice is produced, sal ammoniac is also added. The mixture will then look like some kind of bread dough and is, therefore, also referred to as "dough".

All of these ingredients are cooked in large kettles. The mixture is heated to 135°C. After the boiling process, the liquid volume is transported through pipes to licorice pouring machines. Flat containers with pouring powder and some starch are put into these machines because this absorbs the liquid easier and prevents lumping. Forms are pressed into this powder with stamps that are made of plaster. The liquid licorice is poured into these forms. The trays with liquid licorice are then automatically stacked by this machine and brought into drying rooms. It is there that the trays are dried for 36 to 48 hours at a temperature of up to 70 degrees °C. After this process, the dried licorice will then be transported again by the same machine. The machine turns the trays around so that the powder and licorice falls out of the containers. The pouring powder is then purified and used again. The licorice is brushed clean in the machine and transported to gloss drums where they are supplied with a layer of vegetable oil to create nice, shining candies. Additionally, the licorice is collected in plastic trays and brought to the packaging machines where they are wrapped in different kinds of packages. If licorice is packed properly, it has a life span of more than a year. The consumer buys the licorice in bags, rolls, or loose. Loose licorice is available at the drug store or in candy shops where candy can be selected by the customer.

Most forms of licorice are poured as described above. However, there is also a form of pressed licorice, such as liquorice laces and licorice bars. These forms of licorice are pressed under high pressure and then cut into smaller or larger parts. English licorice is also produced in this way. In fact, this kind of licorice is not the ordinary kind of licorice. This candy belongs to the category of sweets that were invented in 1760 by the English chemist George Dunhill.