That’s fun! I wonder if the licorice-y taste compound is sweet, in general? People have mentioned several licorice-y species in this thread.
Licorice is more minty adjacent, but in some plants their licorice flavor can sometimes taste sweet also. Like in Sweet Cicely, there is a subtle sweetness there (Altho It’s not sugar, just 20% sweet flavor & 80% licorice).
I would look for anise containing plants in general. I dont think anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) has been mentioned. That can very sweet in some individuals. Other are more minty.
1 Like
ooh! Very interesting, bt sweet individuals do you mean like a heavy sugar?
Or just a flavor similar to sweetness.
The Anise Hyssop plants I foraged for smelled like Fennel. Are they supose to smell more minty in other types?
In my experience, they are very variable. Some are sweet bordering on mild stevia. Some are not and are more minty.
Oh, that’s very interesting. So some of them aren’t licoricey or minty in flavor at all, just sweet? If so, that would make those very easily adapted to a whole lot of recipes.
I wouldn’t say any I’ve tried aren’t anisy or minty at all. All I’m saying is there’s lots of variability and there’s a spectrum from sweet / not minty to less sweet / more minty, in my experience.
Is it a spectrum with two ends like that, or a quadrant where you can find any mix of two traits easily? I’m wondering whether “very sweet and very minty” or “very little of either” can be commonly found, too.
1 Like
I’m sorry I don’t have better answers to your question than my previous one.
That’s all right! You’ve given me some very interesting information to think on. 