Should Red Licorice even be called Licorice?

I don’t think it should but what should it be called?

Generally I think names should be accurate (I work in a scientific field), and I know that “red licorice” contains no actual licorice, but when referring to candy I tend to get nostalgic. I’ve always known licorice as a Twizzler or a Red Vine, and think it is ok to be a little more lax in our language when talking about things that are meant to be fun and to balance the more serious/less pleasant parts of life. To me, candy is one of those things.

I thnk the term refers to the consistency not the flavoring.

I wouldn’t know what to call it. Just like white chocolate. It isn’t chocolate.. but what else do you call it?

I think you should call red licorice also licorice. In my opinion it is from the same range and we also call white chocolate chocolate even it is not real chocolate.

no i don’t think we should, but i’m sure we will continue too! the same way people say “Kleenex” for tissues, even if they aren’t ‘Kleenex brand’!

i usually call things like that ‘candy ropes’, if they’re not black licorice/anise flavored.

I’m with Peg1. Licorice means both the ingredient and the ... product? ... to me. I can’t imagine calling red licorice anything other than licorice. There’s the licorice flavor that, well, licorice has, and the licorice product that both licorice and strawberry or cherry or red stuff that comes in the licorice product.

it’s inaccurate, but I think everyone would just get more confused if we changed the name at this late date.  It’s just one of the quirks in our language/culture!

I don’t think it should…since Licorice is a flavor. “Red” is often something berry-like, not licorice. Even as a kid I knew the black stuff was the “real” thing.

I do wonder why licorice flavored things tend to be black. Surely that isn’t the natural color, my guess as to why it’s dark is the molasses that’s usually added to it. So it’s possible there’s a red colored licorice that tasted like it, but I don’t think it’s something we’d see anytime soon.

Tough call.

Yes, I think it should be called red licorice. It’s a misnomer, to be sure, but so are circus peanut (no peanut) and Grape Nuts (no grapes, no nuts).

I think the name in this case describes the form factor and consistency more than the ingredients. People know what it is, so it’s convenient. I do prefer to specify, though, in case my wife were going to buy me candy. Twizzlers, please. Don’t make suck my soda through a plastic straw!

Carl

actually, some white chocolate IS chocolate because it contains cocoa butter…

and no, i don’t think it should be called licorice, because it’s not. “twizzlers” works just fine for such a product.