Sarsaparilla vs liquorice root
Two sweet-rooted plants behind the temperance soft drinks of the nineteenth century, and both are bitter before sugar is added. One tastes of root beer and the other of aniseed.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Sarsaparilla | Liquorice root |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour | Earthy and faintly sweet with an unmistakable root-beer character. | Sweet with a distinct anise-adjacent flavour that dominates anything it is put with. |
| Where it comes from | A climbing vine of Central America and the Caribbean, largely wild-collected. | A Eurasian legume root, cultivated across the Middle East, China and southern Europe. |
| What it became | Soda-fountain sarsaparilla and, by a direct commercial line, modern root beer. | Confectionery across northern Europe, and a component of blends everywhere. |
| The flavour you think you know | Most root-beer flavour actually comes from sassafras rather than from this root. | Liquorice sweets are usually flavoured with anise oil rather than with the root. |
| Preparation | Simmered for twenty minutes, and sweetened where it is drunk. | Simmered, and it sweetens whatever it is simmered with. |
The short answer
Both are bitter without sugar and neither tastes quite like the confectionery that carries its name. Liquorice is the easier to buy and the more assertive in a blend.
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