Coolest Ladybug Cake: A great use for licorice

Here's a great cake for a child's birthday party or any time you want to have a bit of whimsical fun. The "coolest Ladybug Cake" is made out of a devil's food cake mix and uses black licorice for the legs, black stripe and antennas of the ladybug. See a photo and complete directions here.

Don't settle for the bland "licorice" you find in the grocery store. Make this cake really special by using real licorice from Licorice International. We recommend Kenny's Black Licorice Twists, available here or Dutch Black Licorice Laces, available here.

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Do you love licorice? You're a maverick!

If you're like me, you always choose the black jelly beans, even if your friends think you're crazy. (Of course, I later discovered that real licorice is far superior to licorice-flavored jelly beans.)

Well, now there's good news: According to an article in the Edmonton Sun Newspaper, if you choose licorice-flavored jelly beans, you're a maverick, a forward-thinking individual, and a true leader.

Read the article here.

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Licorice Helps Fight Cavities

Here's another reason to love licorice: It can actually help fight cavities. Wenyuan Shi, a microbiologist at UCLA's School of Dentistry, and his colleague, Quin-Yi Lu, a chemist at UCLA's School of Medicine, studied 2000 commonly used Chinese herbs for microbial properties and observed some of the strongest activity in experiments involving licorice root. They found that only 15 mg. of licorice powder eliminates 99.9% of the streptococcus mutans bacterium that can cause cavities.

Licorice International offers some great sugar-free licorice and candy and gum. You can get a 100-piece package of Xylichew Licorice chewing gum for only $12.95 here. You may prefer the traditional Dutch DeBron licorice, now available sugar free here. Amarelli Sugar-Free Chips give a chewy licorice taste with a touch of menthol. They're available here.

Click here to browse through all the sugar free products available at Licorice International.

Preventing cavities with good taste -- what could be better!

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Taste the Licorice Memories Contest Winners

Congratulations to the winners in our "Taste the Licorice Memories" Contest

FIRST PLACE
First place goes to Patricia Clark of North Royalton, Ohio, for her cute story about Halloween. She plans to share her prize ($50 gift certificate to Licorice International) with her five brothers and sisters, who are very much a part of her story.

Here's her winning entry:

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Overlooking the spooky kooky theme which appeal is obvious, the combination of creating my own unique costume and getting a sack full of candy make the night tops in my book. As a baby boomer of the 60’s each Oct 31st I joined the 100’s of kids on my block in search of delectable delights. Pillow case in hand we’d run wildly door to door screaming Trick or Treat collecting a small bounty in a few short hours. The night always ended at the kitchen table where the trading began. After dumping the contents of our bags on the table candy was sorted by category . . . Chocolate, suckers, pennies and of course licorice. Not one to question authority, along with being the youngest and most naïve, I always listened to my 4 older siblings when told black licorice went immediately to the trade pile.

As an adult after a fun night of Trick or Treating with my daughter as tradition had it did the ol dump and sort on the kitchen table. “What’s this?” my daughter asked, handing me a box of black crow’s licorice. Realizing I had never actually eaten a piece since it was always traded, I popped one into my mouth.

Giggling to myself, I realized all those years I had been duped. This stuff was delicious. They invented the trade pile to be able to keep it all for themselves.


SECOND PLACE
Second place goes to April Huckaby of Bloomfield, Connecticut, for her heart-warming story. She receives a $25 gift certificate to Licorice International. Here's her entry:

This is a true story

This past summer, i was sitting at the Duomo in Florence, Italy . . .

I was hungry and being a snacker, I always have items on my duffle bag that I carry with me throughout the world on my various travels.

I pulled out a pack of red licorice and started walking over one of the bridges that leads up to the Boboli gardens.

As I started on the bridge, I pulled out one piece of licorice and went to put the others in my bag. At that moment, a nun, who was a part of a whole group, spotted my licorice. I could tell that she wanted a piece. The other nuns were busy pointing over the Ponte Vecchio at a group of rowers.

I walked over and offered it to her and she accepted. I also offered the other nuns a piece as well. We spoke in Italian for a bit and they went on their way, nuns in black habits , eating red licorice and heading into the Florence morning.

These are the moments that you hold in your heart as a traveler. Life is full of little moments . . . and I'm happy that I was a part of this one.


THIRD PLACE
Third place goes to Elizabeth Sunset of Astoria, Oregon. She says, "My dad would have gotten a kick out of our shared memory winning. He passed away last February." Elizabeth wins a $10 gift certificate to Licorice International. Here's her entry:

Thank you for letting me share one of my best memories that, oddly enough, includes both love and licorice.It seems like forever ago. I was a just a kid in the back of a car, sharing an adventure with my precious family. We were going on a road trip, our first, from California to South Dakota. I saw amazing things that delighted my ten year-old self to no end! Prairie dogs, buffalo, even Mt. Rushmore! But the thing I remember most is a beautiful summer evening, sitting by a lake, sharing chocolate licorice with my dad and watching as distant lightning crackled and hissed across a darkening sky. I'd eaten licorice with him before and I've eaten it since, but nothing will beat the taste of that piece of licorice coated in a warm, cozy layer of love.

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Taste the Licorice Memories Contest

Thank you for your great entries for our "Taste the Licorice Memories" Contest. It's amazing to read the unique, touching and sometimes humorous memories. We're currently in the process of evaluating and judging the entries. Winners will be announced next week.