waddup my brothas. ok when I say sticks I mean dried licorice, specifically the dried root of the American Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) or European licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) plant. but I mean, yeah, it’s a stick.
So dried licorice root has actually been used as a dental cleaning device for centuries. It works mechanically & biologically.
Mechanically, as you chew it, the stick bristles out and does the same thing as a toothbrush (sans toothpaste). Biologically, the stick kills the teeth germies. Only thing that modern toothbrush/tooth paste does that sticks can’t, is remineralize your teeth (if you currently use a remineralizing toothpaste). But you can do other stuff for that if it’s really a concern.
Once you get in the habit of it, you’ll be chewing sticks throughout the day. It’s like you’re constantly brushing your teeth so there aren’t any teeth germies doing damage in the first place that you would need to remineralize for you know?
(I’ve yet to find American licorice root sticks for sale so my experience covers European licorice only)
So…. wut’s the chewing experience like?
pretty dang gud my friend.
The stick is dry at first duh. Then you just kinda suck on it and it softens (this sounds obsecene idk why but it’s literally j in ur mouth. like a weird stick-y lollipop lol. or jerky? vegan jerky…).
Once it softens, then you can start to chew on it. Flavorwise, it’s kinda sweet on the inside. It does not taste like whatever you probably think licorice tastes like. There’s no sharp anise taste.
The brown outer bark is bitter. Quite bitter. Starting out, I shaved off the bark with a pocket knife before chewing on the stick’s interior. Now, I’ve toughened up and it’s just straight up stick, bark and all, for me.
Don’t be afraid to strip the bark at first though because it can be pretty unpleasant taste-wise before you get used to it. And the bark tends to break off and can be unpleasant texture-wise too because it won’t soften like the interior of the stick.
As with all of nature’s creations, there’s good sticks and there’s bad sticks.
The ideal stick is about the width of a skinny finger. This optimal thickness ensures that the stick won’t split before you’ve softened it enough to actually chew it while at the same time not being so thick that it takes forever to soften to the stick to chew.
The ones that are chopstick thin start to split before they’re appropriately softened for chewing and then they’re just garbage for chewing on (like monchin on splinters yk?). I mean imagine chewing on a chopstick vs like…
well actually now that I think about it there’s not much to compare chewing a licorice stick too….
(hmmm…. maybe like when you eat the really tough part of broccoli and u j keep chewin on it? but not exactly like that cuz a gud licorice root is softer and a lot more pleasant to chew.)
Anyways. Finger-width stick is the most ideal but the other ones are fine too. I’ve never had a bad stick in terms of it being rotten or having a strange taste or anything like that. They are consistent across the board in terms of everything but size. Trust. (I’ve chewed a lot of sticks).
As you chew, the chewed part of the stick will become this mangled furry looking yellow thing. I just trim it off with scissors as I go because eventually it’ll start tearing off in your mouth and you gotta spit it out. Having a bit of the furry chewed up bit at the end is good for brushing but you don’t want too much just like how you wouldn’t want your toothbrush bristles to be too long.
Is dis safe
Ye.
Licorice root has been used for dental health for centuries and still actively using by many cultures. There are modern Western studies done on its medicinal properties too (just Google).
The only way you could get sick from chewing licorice root is if you’re gobbling it down which… why would you do that?? Swallowing this stuff is like swallowing chewed gum except it has the texture of a cotton ball. Just chew & compost when all chewed up.
Obviously if you have health conditions, do your research. This homie ain’t a doc, just a stick-chewing comrade.
why licorice root is fire asf
- it’s actually natural. like, it’s literally a stick. and if you can find American licorice, the plant itself is native to the US
- it’s fully compostable and u can j chuck the stub end anywhere. it’s literally a stick
- it’s good for smoking substitution.
smoking = not cool, stinky, bad teeth, gross kisses, stubs pollute.
chewing licorice = extremely cool, fresh, fab teeth, sweet-tastin kisses, stubs are literally mulch. - it’s pretty dang affordable. a big 8 oz bag of em will is $15 on etsy and has literally lasted me 1.5 years… (my last order was in Jan 2022 and using them daily, I’m just now finishing the bag in September 2023)
- stick-chewers have fabulously fresh breath bc as mentioned earlier, the licorice root kills the teeth germies including the ones that give u stank breath. and if ur chewing throughout the day, it’s basically like ur brushing ur teeth throughout the day. you’ll be fresh asfff. plus if u get a smooch, ur pardner will get a lil sweetness from the licorice :p
- did I mention it looks cool. if I see u chewin a licorice stick, that’s instant rizz for the rizz-ons I mentioned above. gimme a kiss licorice-chewerrrr <3333
where 2 get it
I’ve always gotten them from Etsy. PlantGuru and TAMETHESPIRIT are both good and sell European licorice root. My current pack is from TAMETHESPIRIT. They are closed right now tho.
I’m currently on the hunt for a American licorice source.
One day, I’ll grow my own:)
how dis happened
welp u know. a defining trait of SEFFs is that they just get freakier and freakier.
Basically:
Started out with conventional plastic toothbrush + plastic tube toothpaste
-> (2020) Bamboo toothbrush but the bristles were still nylon plastic + charcoal/other kinda gimmicky (in my opinion) “natural toothpastes”
-> (Jan 2021) Found this thing called Swak toothbrush which is basically a plastic toothbrush with a hole for the bristles. You attach a piece of miswak (a stick similar to licorice root except it’s mostly flavorless) as the bristles. Then, you just swap in new pieces of miswak as the bristles wear down.
-> (June 2021) Swak goes out of stock. Then, genius idea: Why not just use the actual stick instead of lil stick on plastic base?
Search for miswak sticks. Miswak is hard to find in the US.
Boom, I discover licorice root and complete my transformation to a stick-chewer.
-> (Sept 2023) Been officially using licorice root (+ floss) as my main dental care for over 2 years & I am totallay cav-freeeee >:)
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