Gluten free liquorice - or gluten free licorice, if you prefer - is not always easy to find.
Even natural brands' you might hope to be GF - such as Biona's - contain wheat flour, and popular products found in Holland & Barrett and other health stores - such as Panda Licorice and RJ's Natural Licorice - are also gluten-containing.
These, though, are safe:
Orgran Molasses Licorice. Uses soy flour instead of wheat flour, and is GF, milk free and egg free, but seems low in actual liquorice (0.5%). Available from Goodness Direct (UK), iHerb (US) and, internationally, via Amazon.
Fini Liquorice Blacks. I came across this tasty Spanish brand at the NOPE event in April, and very much enjoyed their sweets. The products contain none of the 14 allergens, and no 'may contain' warnings are on pack either. Liquorice extract content not provided, but may also be quite low. Distribution and availability does not presently seem wide, but they're on Amazon, and in the UK sold by Real Foods.
Lakrids. Imaginative, luxury and handmade liquorice products from Scandinavia, which contain a much more generous proportion of liquorice (typically around 6%, and raw) than many other sweet products on the market. Use rice flour in place of wheat flour, and confirmed gluten free. You can order them from their own site here. In the UK, some products are stocked by Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, and Skandium. In the US, Chelsea Market Baskets have a decent selection.
Lakritsfabriken ('liquorice factory') is another premium line of Scandinavian luxury liquorice products, from Sweden, including some salty varieties. They've also more recently introduced a more affordable, 'everyday' Lakritskungen range, too. The former uses rice flour and 6% liquorice powder; the latter corn starch and a lower proportion of liquorice. Browse on their website. You can buy it at Totally Swedish or at the online store of their UK distributor, Appetitus. In the US, it is distributed by Chicago Importing. Check out their 'Where to Buy' page for stockists and online ordering.
YumEarth Gluten Free Licorice. Fruit-flavoured (strawberry, pomegranate, peach) candy - so some might not count this as 'proper' liquorice! Can only find them in the US, sold on Amazon or on the YumEarth site directly.
Candy Tree GF Licorice. Don't know much about this US brand. Made with molasses, syrup and rice flour / starch - but can't see any actual liquorice in the ingredients (instead, 'natural flavour'). Browse online here.
In the UK, you might like to try some specialist online licorice stores:
All Things Liquorice has a GF section, including Lakrids (see above) and Italian brand Amarelli, renowned for the purity of its liquorice products and collectible tins.
Liquorice with a Twist also has a GF page, including a selection of Dutch products (apparently, the Dutch like their liquorice salty).
And another, Liquorice World, also has a GF collection. They too stock Lakrids and Amarelli.
In the US, there's this outlet:
Licorice International - which has a large GF section.Labels: free from food, gluten free
