YUM READS

Found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, YumReads searched for the story behind Liquorice, a juice in Ancient Egyptian history – named Erk Soos in modern Egypt –.

Liquorice Juice is an Egyptian specialty. Pharaohs were among the first to know the raw Liquorice as this juice is deeply rooted in the conscience of the Egyptian’s life as it has various medical benefits.

It has an ancient story where the ancient Egyptians presented it as an offering to the gods in the temples to honor the spirits of the Pharaohs.

Dr. Hala Khalaf, Head of History department, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University believed that the importance of the Liquorice Juice came after the Ancient Egyptian’s belief that almost all plants are beneficial and it has medical use as “the pharos left for us evidence about their medical herbs which was extracted from plants”. Besides, the presence of the ancient papyrus preserving Egyptian recipes in their tombs beside their mummies.

Khalaf stated that the most important papyrus are the Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus, Edward Smith Papyrus, Hearst Papyrus, and London Medical Papyrus. However, Ebers Papyrus is the most important of them as it includes the herbal knowledge may be more than 3000 types of herbs and the diseases that were cured by the herbs.

She added that they carved the walls of their temples with the most appropriate timing for collecting the herbs and their perseverance.

The Head of the History department explained that the Liquorice Juice is extracted from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a plant with blue flowers which is present in Egypt and Syria although Syrians did not use it except after the Ancient Egyptians used it to cure diseases. It helps in curing vomiting and intestinal irritability.

She added that there are two different types of Liquorice have been mentioned in the papyrus which is Sweet Liquorice which is used nowadays in modern Egypt and Bad Liquorice and which has this name because it has a bad smell and bitterness in food. Regardless of its bad smell, this type is beneficial in curing liver diseases besides its mixtures with other medicines to cure dry cough and Asthma.

Samy Wadie, a Businessman, said that he finds the liquorice drink very nutritious and beneficial to take a glass of it on a daily basis since the herbaceous legume serves as a treatment for coughs and lung diseases.

Wadie added that the flavor of liquorice is sweet and it is aromatic unlike how many people tend to label the drink. “I usually advise my children to drink it regularly not only on a seasonal basis”.

On the other hand, Mai Morad, a university student, said that she dislikes liquorice because it tastes bitter and its smell is “awful”. “Whenever I give it a try in Ramadan after iftar, I feel that I am unable to eat anything afterward”.

Morad mentioned that she doesn’t find the claims of it being healthy convincing or serving as a motive to reconsider her stance with regard to such a seasonal drink.