Liquorice

A Liquorice is a type of sweet snack with a semi-firm consistency often black or red in colour, flavoured with the extract of the root of the liquorice plant. In recent years it has been marketed as a healthier snack food because it contains almost no fat per serving. It is one of the oldest forms of confectionery, and continues to be a popular product today.

B Liquorice has a long history. In thirteenth century Europe, liquorice root extract was widely used to treat ailments such as coughs and sore throats. It seems likely that merchants who sold these remedies then combined it with honey to produce the first liquorice sweets. Later, in the fifteenth century, when sugar was more readily available, this was used instead of honey. Around this time, liquorice pastilles, which were made in rough moulds, were widely known. The kind of liquorice we eat today is understood to have originated in Holland at the start of the seventeenth century. It became one of the standard products when the confectionery industry developed in the mid-nineteenth century. Today, liquorice accounts for a significant portion of the global non-chocolate confectionery market.

C In modern production, corn syrup (also known as glucose syrup and sugar are the two primary sweeteners of liquorice. The sugar used is derived from beet and sugar cane. It is supplied as small, white crystals, which readily dissolve in water.Since the grade of the sugar is not critical to the consistency of the liquorice, a less refined type can be used, thereby reducing the cost of production. Corn syrup is a thick liquid made from maize (corn) starch. As well as providing sweetness, it keeps the product soft, inhibits sugar crystallisation, and prolongs the product’s shelf life by limiting the growth of microbes.

D The ingredients are bound together with wheat flour. Wheat flour is primarily composed of starch and protein which, when combined with water, create a paste that can be stretched without breaking. These properties allow the liquorice mixture to be moulded in various ways, creating, for example, straws, shoelaces, twists and ribbons.

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1 Liquorice sweets were developed from a substance used for its medicinal properties. ……………

2 Liquorice sweets made with sugar proved more popular with the public than those containing honey. ……………

3 Sales of liquorice are currently increasing faster than those of other non-chocolate confectionery products. ……………

4 The texture of liquorice depends on the quality of the sugar used. ……………

5 The addition of corn syrup helps maintain the freshness of the liquorice over time. ……………

6 The use of wheat flour enables different shapes of liquorice to be created. ……………

Questions 7–13

Complete the flow-chart below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 7–13 on your answer sheet.

Mass Production of Liquorice

ingredients placed in 7 ______ mixers prevent slurry from 8 ______ after 9 ______ checks, mixture moves to cooking stage cooking process removes moisture paste mixture extruded onto moving belt slow movement lets product cool and 10 ______ cut into pieces product is coated in a 11 ______ to improve appearance put in wrapper which is then 12 ______ a 13 ______ is printed onto each wrapper