I wanted to make licorice ice cream, but I don't want to use existing licorice candy (which probably contains preservatives, starch, gum etc which I want to add myself if needed). I realized I should probably go for cooking licorice root into some sort of extract or syrup and add black food coloring to the ice cream.
What would be the optimal way (traditional?) to extract flavor from a licorice root? Cut into thin strips and cook with a little water and sugar? Macerate in alcohol for a few weeks?
Or is the root not good for candy at all? Should I use anise seeds instead, for example?