Licorice, « the sweet herb » that harmonises

Gan Cao, the Chinese name for licorice, simply reads « the sweet herb »: it keeps only what strikes you first, the remarkably sweet flavour of the root. Its botanical name says the same, Glycyrrhiza combining the Greek words for « sweet » and for « root ». It grows on the dry, sandy lands of northern China, and its reference growing region is Inner Mongolia. It is the most frequent plant in the classical formulas, so much so that a proverb claims: « of ten formulas, nine contain licorice ». Its nickname, Guo Lao, « the Elder of the State », comes from its talent for harmonising all the other plants.

Nourishing the Qi of the Middle

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, licorice is sweet and neutral: it can go into warm and cool preparations alike without tipping them either way. Tradition gives sweetness three powers, to supplement, to harmonise and to moderate, and licorice, which has hardly any other flavour, exercises all three. Associated with the Spleen and the Stomach, the Middle where the Qi is born, it is traditionally used to supplement the Middle and support the Qi.

Harmonising and softening

Its most famous role is to harmonise: its sweetness cushions what is rough in the other plants, softens strong flavours and makes disparate ingredients work together. It also enters the Lung, which it moistens. With white peony, it forms one of the most emblematic pairs of the pharmacopoeia, to relax what tightens: this is Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang.