Licorice and Rievaulx Abbey

During my multiple visits to Yorkshire between 2002 and 2004, a close friend introduced me to the abbeys in the shire. We visited them all, and visited them more than once. I think Rievaulx Abbey was one of my favorites.

Today, while tutoring a student, somehow the subject of licorice came up. We were curious about the origin of licorice. I guessed licorice originated somewhere in Africa or possibly southwest Asia. Wow, was I wrong. It originated in southern Europe.

But this, from Wikipedia, almost made me fall off my chair:

Pontefract, an old medieval town in West Yorkshire, England, was the first place where liquorice mixed with sugar began to be used as a sweet in the same way it is in the modern day. Pontefract Cakes were originally made there. In Yorkshire and Lancashire it is colloquially known as Spanish, supposedly because Spanish monks grew liquorice root at Rievaulx Abbey near Thirsk.

Maybe more later, but this is enough memories of Yorkshire for me for the moment. Not a day goes by ...