> > > Does anyone out there really like the flavor of licorice? I don't mean that the flavor is just tolerated. I want to know if anyone truly enjoys (and perhaps even craves) the flavor of licorice.
> >
> > My wife does. I like it in small doses now and then, but I never crave it.
>
> Question: does licorice flavoring really taste like licorice? I've never had real black licorice, but I've had, upon about two occasions, had licorice-flavored something or anothers. I realize that most flavorings are nothing near [especially the fruit ones-- what are they thinking? Have these people ever had these things?] but some come close.

Oddly enough, licorice (and I'm not talking about just black licorice, but licorice in general) is one of those flavours that comes close to the "real thing" because it *is* the real thing. It's a very strong flavour derived from anise and fennel and several other similar spices. It easily overpowers the taste of sugar in candy or the alcohol in Ouzo. I suspect that licorice's very strength in flavour is what turns most people off of it. Frankly, I don't like it that much either, although it's nice in small bites. Heh.

No, that's not completely true. I have a huge craving for those anise-flavoured Chinese olives. These are the olives that contain large, horribly pointed spikes on the ends of the olive pits, such that it doesn't matter if you're 5 or 50 -- your parents are still going to warn you not to rip your throat out eating preserved Chinese olives. I kind of like eating candy with an element of risk. Makes it that much more fun.


> I'm just curious is all and I can't find a real good way to wrap this up without using that hated delete key. Or that squishy thing in my head. So, yeah.

Love it when you say that. See, I've got this black t-shirt with a picture on it: a squishy thing inside a red circle, with a red diagonal slash crossing through the squishy thing. Wonder what it could be?

Wolfspirit