# Licorice, fennel: is this a big joke someone is playing on me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419 "2010-05-23T01:36:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/21 "2010-05-23T05:37:34Z")
I love licorice and its various siblings. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/22 "2010-05-23T06:10:01Z")
I’ve never hated licorice. However, I can see how not everyone likes the taste. I also seem to notice it’s kind of an “old person’s candy” (which probably explains why I’ve grown to like it better as I’ve gotten older–especially Basset Licorice All-Sorts). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/23 "2010-05-23T06:13:46Z")
Good & Plenty is one of my favorite candies. Licorice with a candy shell. > **[Good & Plenty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_%26_Plenty)** > > Good & Plenty is a brand of licorice candy. The candy is a narrow cylinder of sweet black licorice, coated in a hard candy shell to form a capsule shape. The pieces are colored bright pink and white and presented in a purple box or bag. > Good & Plenty was first produced by the Quaker City Chocolate & Confectionery Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1893 and is believed to be the oldest branded candy in the United States. A second candy, Good & Fruity, is a multicolored, multi-flavor candy w... ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/24 "2010-05-23T06:49:25Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What about absinthe, anisette, ouzo, rakı, or arak? It’s interesting - I hate licorice, but arak or ouzo on the rocks is my favorite summer drink. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/25 "2010-05-23T06:57:49Z")
Licorice is disgusting, along with fennel, anise, BlackJack gum, black jelly beans, Red Vines and Black Vines, NyQuil (red flavor for me kthx) Jagermeister and absinthe. I’ll lump cilantro in there too because even trace amounts makes the entire dish taste like it. I mean just LOOK at the word anise! It’s basically the same word as anus, which I don’t want in my salads. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/26 "2010-05-23T07:00:15Z")
I hate twizzlers, but I love ouzo and all other anisette liquors. Not sure how I feel about fennel in food. I’m too low-brow to have tasted such a dish I think. What spices do Romanians put in their hamburgers? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/27 "2010-05-23T13:54:53Z")
_De gustibus non est disputandem._ –old Roman proverb “Licorice is the liver of candy.” –Michale O’Donaghue ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/28 "2010-05-23T14:34:21Z")
Hate licorice, love cilantro. Guess there’s no correlation. Also, if I had to eat a strongly licorice flavored something or other to avoid embarrassing a host or something, I could without making too much of a yucky face, unlike cilantro haters who like to clutch their chest and pretend they’re dying. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/29 "2010-05-23T14:36:08Z")
I don’t like licorice candy or green NyQuil or ouzo flavor at all, but I do like anise cookies and fennel. It’s more subtle that way. And I adore star anise. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/30 "2010-05-23T14:42:01Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Imagine something tasting like some type of fetid, rotting citrus mixed with a bit of kerosene and dime-store perfume. That’s my best description of cilantro, and I don’t call that rockin’. > > genetics, schenetics- Sounds like you’ve got (or are missing?) the gene. A lot of people with this genetic difference from me say that cilantro tastes like soap (which I’d imagine is about the same as tasting like kerosene and perfume). Meanwhile, people genetically similar to me on this issue have no idea what you’re talking about. I’d never use the word “soap” to describe the taste of cilantro. There’s not even the slightest resemblance for me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/31 "2010-05-23T14:47:18Z")
Don’t like licorice, but without fennel Italian sausage is just pork. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/32 "2010-05-23T15:00:22Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > What does coriander (cilantro seed) taste like compared to the leafy part of the plant? I keep meaning to find out, but I don’t really feel like buying any. Nothing like. It’s sort of citrusy spicy. However, I like cilantro, and I don’t know if cilantro haters like coriander or not. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/33 "2010-05-23T15:03:23Z")
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned [chervil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chervil) yet. It’s not very common in the US anymore, but I’ve grown it in Germany. They say it has a very mild licorice flavor, and that seemed about right to me. A little is nice in soups and things. Great little plant for the herb gardener who hasn’t tried it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/34 "2010-05-23T15:30:13Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > One of the most repellant things I’ve ever seen was a “salad” made from shredded fennel, mandarin oranges and olives.😕:eek: As someone who actually _eats_ that, I can assure you it’s damn tasty. In fact, tonight I’m having fennel, orange and smoked herring salad. ---
**Author:** ![santosvega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@santosvega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/santosvega)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/35 "2010-05-23T15:39:27Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What about absinthe, anisette, ouzo, rakı, or arak? Yeah, right? It seems like people these days, in the USA anyway, have a general aversion to licorice flavor, but it also seems to be a recent phenomenon as seemingly nearly every culture in Europe and the Middle East has preferred it as a flavoring for liquor and liqueur, and some beers, since the Middle Ages. Licorice candy seems to have been much more popular a couple of generations ago as well. Why the shift? For the record, I like licorice, fennel, etc., in all of their iterations. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/36 "2010-05-23T15:54:38Z")
I don’t really know what fennel is or tastes like, but I hate licorice. It just feels wrong. Then again I hate most sweet stuff that isn’t chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/37 "2010-05-23T16:33:16Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Sounds like you’ve got (or are missing?) the gene. A lot of people with this genetic difference from me say that cilantro tastes like soap (which I’d imagine is about the same as tasting like kerosene and perfume). Meanwhile, people genetically similar to me on this issue have no idea what you’re talking about. I’d never use the word “soap” to describe the taste of cilantro. There’s not even the slightest resemblance for me. I dunno. I taste the soapy flavor, and learned to love it. So now when I taste cilantro, it’s “Mmmm! Soapy!” I will always hate licorice, though. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/38 "2010-05-23T16:35:22Z")
> [@santosvega](#): > > It seems like people these days, in the USA anyway, have a general aversion to licorice flavor, but it also seems to be a recent phenomenon as seemingly nearly every culture in Europe and the Middle East has preferred it as a flavoring for liquor and liqueur, and some beers, since the Middle Ages. Licorice candy seems to have been much more popular a couple of generations ago as well. Why the shift? I think there’s a whole generation of Americans who’ve never actually tasted licorice but possibly think they have. They grew up with flavored candy like Twizzlers and Redvines that are marketed as “red licorice” but don’t really contain licorice. Of course, that may have nothing to do with the “general aversion” but I think it’s a factor for some. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/39 "2010-05-23T16:41:32Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Sounds like you’ve got (or are missing?) the gene. A lot of people with this genetic difference from me say that cilantro tastes like soap (which I’d imagine is about the same as tasting like kerosene and perfume). Meanwhile, people genetically similar to me on this issue have no idea what you’re talking about. I’d never use the word “soap” to describe the taste of cilantro. There’s not even the slightest resemblance for me. I like cilantro, but the first time I used it, it did taste a bit like soap. Part of it is just getting used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419/40 "2010-05-23T16:42:05Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > I think there’s a whole generation of Americans who’ve never actually tasted licorice but possibly think they have. They grew up with flavored candy like Twizzlers and Redvines that are marketed as “red licorice” but don’t really contain licorice. These days, for some, “licorice” is just used generically to mean “gummy candy.” I heard it used that way (confusingly) in a trivia question a couple of weeks ago. However, I don’t think that has anything to do with the licorice aversion. I hate licorice flavor, and I know exactly how it tastes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licorice-fennel-is-this-a-big-joke-someone-is-playing-on-me/540419.md?page=3)