Liquorice manufacturer from Sweden, in Helsingborg since 2011
Lakritsfabriken i Ramlösa is a liquorice manufacturer from Helsingborg in southern Sweden. Martin Jörgensen, a trained chef and sommelier, introduced Sweden's first premium liquorice there in 2011. Soft-poured, bound with rice flour, seasoned with genuine anise oil – and made from their own liquorice root since 2019.
Swedish liquorice from Lakritsfabriken comes from a small liquorice manufacturer in Sweden, specifically from Helsingborg on the west coast. What distinguishes this Swedish liquorice from mass-produced goods is its consistency: soft, chewy, and yielding, instead of sitting hard in the mouth. We stock five varieties in our shop, from mild to spicy, with 6% liquorice powder in every single one.
Anyone trying liquorice from Sweden for the first time notices the difference immediately. The texture gives way, the anise oil comes through instantly, and the ammonium chloride builds up slowly instead of overwhelming you.
A chef switches to the liquorice root in 2011
On April 9, 2011, Martin Jörgensen stood at the Liquorice Festival in Stockholm for the first time. What he brought with him, he called Sweden's first premium liquorice.
The path there led through the kitchen. Martin had trained as a chef and then worked as a sommelier before he decided that liquorice could be more than what rolls off the assembly line in large factories. A sommelier thinks in terms of balance and finish – and that is exactly how he built his recipes.
The company headquarters is located in Ramlösa, a district of Helsingborg known in Sweden primarily for its mineral water. Hence the name: Lakritsfabriken i Ramlösa. Today, the factory is at Ängelholmsvägen 34, with a shop, and those who wish can book a tasting there.
The shop is open until 6 p.m. on weekdays and until 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and there is a second location at Helsingborg Central. If you are travelling in the south of Sweden, you should plan a detour – Helsingborg is conveniently located between Copenhagen and Gothenburg.
The fact that a chef founded this liquorice manufacturer in Sweden is evident in the combinations. Chocolate and sea salt on salty liquorice, chilli flakes on dark chocolate – no one would think of that who only knows confectionery.
Five varieties, from mild to spicy
Our range extends from sweet liquorice without ammonium chloride to bars with chilli flakes. There are two forms: rolls in a box and dipped bars.
Our best-selling Swedish liquorice is the salty form, the Salty Premium Liquorice in the 150g box – ammonium chloride, anise oil, soft-poured. Those who prefer it milder should choose the Sweet Premium Liquorice, which contains no ammonium chloride at all and thus showcases the original form of liquorice.
With the bars, the chocolate determines the character. The Liquorice Bars with Milk Chocolate are the most accessible, sprinkled with crunchy liquorice granules. The Bars with Sea Salt feature dark chocolate and coarse salt flakes, and the Bars with Chilli add an extra kick of heat.
Each bar weighs 45 g and is about a finger long. The manufacturer's assortment includes over twenty varieties; we carry five of them.
The rolls come in flat black hinged boxes with lime-green paper inside. On the inside of the lid is something many do not know: the botanical name for liquorice is Glycyrrhiza glabra, and the shrub grows about a metre high.
Incidentally, the difference between sweet and salty is a single substance. Salmiak, chemically known as ammonium chloride, makes the salty variety salty – not table salt. Sweet liquorice contains none at all and is therefore the older of the two forms.
From root to roll
Swedish liquorice begins as a root. Liquorice root is boiled until a tough, almost black juice remains – the raw liquorice, which is hard as pitch once it cools down.
Reheated and mixed with cane sugar and rice flour, it creates the dough, which is pressed through long pipes while still warm. This gives the liquorice its typical shape. After cooling, the strands are cut into bite-sized pieces and packed by hand.
Martin has avoided wheat flour, gelatine, and hardened fats in every Swedish liquorice from the very beginning. It is bound with rice flour and seasoned with genuine anise oil rather than flavourings – that is the reason why this liquorice remains soft and yields when chewed instead of splintering.
Since 2019, the liquorice has been grown on 8 hectares of their own land in southern Sweden. Glycyrrhiza glabra is the botanical name of the plant; it grows to a good metre high, and its roots need years in the soil to develop their aroma. From their own field to the finished liquorice – almost no one else in Europe is attempting this.
519 metres of liquorice and a Finnish title
On April 4, 2012, Lakritsfabriken produced the longest liquorice bar in the world: 519 metres, set up in Hököpinge near Malmö and certified by Guinness World Records on August 10, 2012.
For Swedish liquorice, this was a real statement. The old record had stood at 244 metres since March 8, 2008, and came from Australia. Martin's team more than doubled it, filmed the whole thing, and live-streamed it. Anyone who knows how quickly liquorice mass sets as it cools can imagine what a race against time that was.
More important for the taste is the 2013 award: In Finland, the "Super Salty" variety won the title of "Bästa Saltlakrits" (Best Salty Liquorice). And the Finns are certainly not lenient judges when it comes to salty liquorice. Hats off.
Today, the liquorice from Helsingborg is exported to the Nordic neighbouring countries, to the USA, to Germany, and to shops in London and Paris. Sweden's first premium liquorice, as Martin described what was on the table in Stockholm in 2011 – that has become a brand known throughout the North.
What has remained the same: no wheat flour, no gelatine, no hardened fat. Anyone who comes from a kitchen like Martin knows that a short ingredient list is not asceticism, but a choice in favour of flavour.
Which variety for which evening
If you are trying Swedish liquorice for the first time, start with the sweet variety. It showcases the liquorice root in its pure form, without placing the ammonium chloride at the forefront.
Liquorice from Sweden is milder in texture than the hard Dutch chunks and less chocolate-heavy than the Danish ones. They sit right in between – which makes them a great entry point.
The salty version goes well with coffee in the afternoon, as well as in the evening with whisky or aquavit – the salt and the smoke complement each other perfectly. Try the bars with sea salt with an espresso after a meal; that is a reliable finishing touch. And if you have guests and want something on the table that will spark conversation, go for the chilli bars alongside a strong blue cheese.
The slim 45g packs almost always work as a small gift because liquorice with chocolate and salt is far from known to everyone here. Our tip for the summer: put the bars in the fridge for twenty minutes; the chocolate coating will snap more loudly.
And if you are baking, a few chopped-up rolls belong in a chocolate mousse. The Swedish liquorice gives it an edge that cocoa alone cannot achieve.
Spicy, salty, fresh with anise – that is how liquorice from Sweden tastes when it is done well. You can see how it compares to the Danish and Dutch versions in our Liquorice selection. Treat yourself and try them all.
