Posted by Lisa Waddle

One of the great things about working at a food magazine is how totally acceptable it is to talk about food obsessions. Walking back from the test kitchen the other day, following an afternoon tasting (yes, the test kitchen and afternoon tastings are two other things I love about the job), a group of us were discussing anise, which led to the topic of licorice. As expected, the crowd cleanly divided between the “I hate licorice” folks and the “Can’t get enough of the real stuff—not the pseudo red vines.”

As a longtime licorice devotee, I’m always on the lookout for authentic licorice. (And by that, I mean candy flavored with licorice root, not some sugar-and-anise-extract poseur.) I was excited when Altoids came out a few years ago with a “Curiously Strong Licorice Mints,” bittersweet and potent. Panda licorice from Finland is pretty widely available in grocery and natural foods stores here in the Northeast. And of course, the Internet simplifies the feeding of my licorice addiction immeasurably. One of my favorite sites is LicoriceInternational.com, a store that puts all the salty, medicinal, sweet, oddly shaped licorice from around the world in one place, even offering “samplers” so you can get a taste of some of the more exotic types and brands available. One of my favorites is the Dubble Zout Dutch licorice—coin-shaped, hard, and salty, they are one treat you can be sure no non-licorice-lover will ever sneak from your desk (at least not more than once).

With the passing of Halloween, I’ll be able to get my licorice fix by buying half-off Good & Plenty from the local store, but I may need to mail-order some of that Dutch licorice soon.

How about you? Know of any other licorice products that I simply must try?