Faux Licorice
Apple, Pomegranate + Fresh Fennel Seeds
I originally started writing this blog last November while on a trip to the South of France…Back then, one of the hiking trail I visited with my friend was filled with wild fennel in flower and seed, and I couldn’t help but nibble the harvest throughout our nature walk.
Fresh fennel seeds and pollen have an intense magnification in flavor compared to the dried seeds and these were my original inspiration for this recipe . Sweetness, fragrance, and a distinctive licorice taste are unmistakable imprints from the fresh seeds. It’s hard not to compare them to the flavor of black licorice, which had me thinking…
Maybe I could create an alternative to licorice candy?
Why would that thought enter my head?
Well a client of mine loves licorice wheels, a lot, and was using the candy as a daily medicinal treat to help with constipation. I wanted to create a healthier alternative that offered the digestive support, the same familiar chewiness and flavor but without the licorice. Since they have high blood pressure licorice is contraindicated. Another irritant I wanted to replace was the gluten as one of the ingredients in their favorite brand was wheat flour.
I decided to create a fennel flavored extra chewy fruit leather as an alternate client offering!
Pomegranate, apple and lemon were my fruits of choice, plus a small amount of hawthorn berries. The pith, and peel of pomegranate and lemon and also the apple peel and hawthorn berries are rich in pectin which is not only abundant in fiber and thus great for constipation relief but also useful to create a gelatin free gummy. My vision was that the additional pectin would mimic the texture of the black licorice wheel.
Making Pectin
Breaking down the pectin from vegetable or fruit peels takes time, but overcooking the fruit breaks down the vitamin C and antioxidant content. I tried a few different methods, from making pomegranate pectin by dehydrating, powdering and simmering the peel (pictured below), to cooking the whole chopped fruits for 2 hours and producing a similar result. All good food science experiments, but also quite labor intensive and with different levels of success from a flavor perspective. The pomegranate pectin was mouth puckeringly astringent and bitter, so that version was pushed aside.
The recipe I ended up creating maximized the pectin production without compromising the nutrients in the fruit, or the flavor from the fennel seeds. Once the puree was dehydrated and formed into the appropriate wheel shape, I’m happy to report that I got a client thumb’s up for taste, texture, and function.
It’s the little things:)
Faux Licorice Recipe
1 organic apple…Peeled, cored and chopped. (Save the peel)
Half a juiced organic lemon (Save the peel, pith and any seeds)
1/2 a whole organic pomegranate. (Save the peel and pith)
1/2 tablespoon powdered cinnamon
4 cups of filtered water
20g freshly harvested fennel seed or 10g of organic dried fennel seed
2 teaspoons of organic/wild hawthorn berries, dried or fresh, depending on the time of year.
Honey or Sugar to taste, (See below for more information)
Method
Add the peel from the apple to a cooking pot with the peel and pith from the pomegranate, the hawthorn berries, and the peel and pith and seeds from the lemon. Add the filtered water and lemon juice and bring the pot to a boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 90 minutes. Add the apple pieces, pomegranate fruit, cinnamon and fennel seeds for a further 20-30 minutes of simmering before pushing the fruit paste through a strainer until you have a smooth puree.
Add the puree back into a pan and reduce the water content over a low heat until the puree holds its form when you drag a spatula through it. Taste the puree and adjust for sweetness. You’ll likely notice a little bitterness in the flavor profile. I tried two different sweeteners…According to my taste testers, sugar was more appealing in flavor, but my vote was for raw honey, which has it’s own medicinal benefits.
However much puree you end up with…(I ended up with about a cup), you’ll find you need about 4 teaspoons of sugar per cup of puree or 2 tablespoons of honey, depending on your preference.
Paint a thin layer of the puree on some parchment paper. Dehydrate in the oven on the lowest setting possible until the puree is dry to the touch but a little bit tacky. (If the fruit leather dries out too much, it will not stick to itself when it is rolled into wheels). I found it easiest to cut thin strips with scissors before rolling the wheels and decorating the curled up rolls with further fennel seed flecks.
This is a candy you can feel good about eating and should last until you’ve finished the batch as they are shelf stable.
I’d love to know if you make these treats. Enjoy!
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