Sugar + Licorice
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 76 recipes, and they share 8 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Do sugar and licorice go together?
Yes. 76 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 8 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 22% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 8 flavor molecules: 23% of licorice's 35. Among the shared key aromas are guaiacol (smoky, sweet) and phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
sugar
The tartness. Sour notes make up 24% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 20% for licorice. It carries 57 molecules licorice doesn't have.
licorice
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 10% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for sugar. It carries 27 molecules sugar doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Syrup: the best fit for both, top 6% of pairs with sugar, top 27% with licorice.
- Chocolate: top 13% of pairs with sugar, top 21% with licorice.
- Vanilla: top 8% of pairs with sugar, top 32% with licorice.
- Cinnamon: top 10% of pairs with sugar, top 35% with licorice.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with sugar and licorice
Almost always desserts: 4 of the 5 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: sugar has 57 molecules licorice doesn't, and licorice has 27 that sugar doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 8 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 57 only in sugar and the 27 only in licorice.
Sugar and licorice questions
Do sugar and licorice go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 76 recipes, and they share 8 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do sugar and licorice taste good together?
They overlap on 8 flavor molecules: 23% of licorice's 35. Among the shared key aromas are guaiacol (smoky, sweet) and phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with sugar and licorice?
Syrup is the best third ingredient: top 6% of pairs with sugar and top 27% with licorice. Chocolate and vanilla also fit both.
What can you make with sugar and licorice?
Almost always desserts: 4 of the 5 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Christmas Gumdrop Bars, Critters in the Hay, Herbal Energy Drink, Nishalda.
Can I use licorice instead of sugar?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: sugar has 57 molecules licorice doesn't, and licorice has 27 that sugar doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Sugar vs Licorice. https://compkitchen.com/compare/sugar-vs-licorice. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_sugar_vs_licorice_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Sugar vs Licorice},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/sugar-vs-licorice},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.