Licorice chalks are soft candies made with starch, sugar, and licorice extract. Licorice is often flavored with various natural flavors, both in the case of pure licorice and in candies with licorice extract like these. In this case, the main flavors chosen are ginger and lemon. Licorice is a native aromatic plant, native to the Mediterranean and the Near East. The plant is called licorice thanks to the Greeks; the etymology of the word traces back to the Greek words for root and sweet, so licorice means sweet root.
The fact that licorice is not actually obtained from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra (this is the scientific name of the plant) but from the rhizome, that is, from a thickened part of the stem that grows underground, is a detail, given that the rhizome in its natural state, which looks like twigs, is sold under the name "licorice root."
Taste and characteristics of licorice chalks with ginger and lemon
Licorice has a high sweetening power, superior to that of sucrose, but it also has a very strong flavor and an aftertaste. Acidulous, almost bitter, very pronounced. This is why licorice is often flavored; its flavor is so strong that combining it with another flavor certainly won't overpower the licorice, but rather will create a new flavor.
Those familiar with the taste of licorice will intuitively understand the rationale behind choosing ginger and lemon for flavoring. Ginger has a citrusy, fresh flavor reminiscent of lemon, and the two aromas nicely counterbalance the flavor of licorice, which is often described with adjectives like enveloping and balsamic. But what is ginger? It's an aromatic perennial herbaceous plant, just like licorice, and, coincidentally, its root is also used, which isn't actually a root but a rhizome. Considering that the rhizome serves as a nutrient reserve, it's not at all strange that that part of a plant with a rhizome is used. Unlike our licorice, however, ginger originates from the Far East. The plant from which it is obtained is called Zingiber officinale and belongs to the Zingiberaceae family.
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