formulas and recipes
what does star anise taste like?
Star anise has a strong, sweet licorice-like flavor, with warm spice notes and a mild numbing effect, also known to be 13 times sweeter than sugar.
what does star anise smell like?
Star anise is often described as having a spicy-sweet, pungent, licorice aroma.
what is star anise used for?
culinary uses
To add some pungent, warm flavor to your cuisine, try adding one or two
whole star anise pods to slow cooking soups and stews. Adding star anise
to braising liquids when simmering a whole chicken or a beef roast is a
particularly easy way to get meat that simply falls off the bone and retains
its natural juices.
The pods are fragile and broken easily which doesn't diminish flavor and in
fact makes for easier handling when only a small amount is desired for use.
Star Anise is a powerful, potent spice that is best used sparingly. Powdered
star anise can be made by grinding the entire dried fruit—carpels, seeds and
all—to a fine, smooth-textured powder using a mortar and pestle or an
electric mill. This dark powder can then be added to vegetables and other
side dishes, as well as baked goods and puddings.
other uses
Star anise owes its distinctive flavor and aroma to the presence of
anethole, a double-bonded ether that has as many commercial culinary
applications as it does in the household kitchen. It's more than a dozen
times sweeter than sugar making it a valuable and economical addition to
many baked goods and confections. The anethole organic compound is also
found in many alcoholic beverages such as the Italian liquor Gallianoa as
well as many types of oral hygiene products.
asian cusine
Native to China, Vietnam, and grown in India, star anise is a traditional
seasoning in Asian cuisine. It is a key ingredient in garam masala, a blend of
seasonings that lends a pungent taste to many Indian curries and stews.
Westerners are probably most familiar with star anise as the featured spice
in the popular Chinese signature dish, Peking duck.
five-spice powder
Star Anise is also one of the ingredients contained
in five-spice powder a traditional Chinese seasoning blend seeking to
balance the yin and yang in food and encompasses all five flavors
(sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty). There are many variants on the
recipe, but the pungent blend can be known to contain Szechuan
peppercorns, star anise, ground cloves, cinnamon and ground fennel
seeds. Some variants add salt. It is ideal for seasoning meat but should be
used sparingly due to its potent nature.
health benefits
Star anise is well known fo it's distinct flavor and culinary applications but also for its medicinal benefits. Star anise is typically prepared as a tea which has application in traditional Chinese medicine. Its popularity is largely driven by its antimicrobial properties and pharmacological potential. Star anise can be useful for treating fungal, bacterial and viral infections as well as treating influenza. It may also help improve digestion, alleviate cramps and reduce nausea.
star anise vs anise (or aniseseed)
star anise and anise similarities
A frustrating bit of nomenclature
has created much confusion between star anise Illicium vernum featured here
and anise Pimpinella anisum. To make matters worse: 1) both star anise
and anise have a similar sweet, licorice aroma; 2) their respective
essential oils both contain the anethole ether mentioned above; and 3)
they can be used for substitutions for each other in certain recipes since
they also both share a licorice-like flavor notes. Star anise however is
much more pungent while anise is more subtle in flavor and ostensibly it is
advised to use considerably less star anise than anise when making
substitutions.
star anise and anise differences
The most obvious difference between
star anise and anise is visual. When unground star anise is an
eight-horned "star", and pods are red-brown and rust colored. Anise is a
flowering herb whose seed is aromatic but light grey-brown, ridged
and elongated. The anise seed is much smaller than the star anise.
Additionally these two plants are from different parts of the world. As
mentioned star anise is native to China and Vietnam and it was not until the
16th century that it was seen in London or used in the West; whereas anise
was used in Rome in the 1st century as anise is native to the Middle
East and was able to be widely cultivated in the temperate climates of
Europe.
farming and processing
Native to southwest of China and North Vietnam (but also grown in India and
Japan) Illicium verum is a small evergreen member of the magnolia family.
Its fruit is easily recognizable due to the eight-pointed star-shaped
pods that house the seeds. The spice gets its name from the Chinese word
that means "eight-corners" or "eight-horns". However, they are more
commonly known throughout the world simply as star anise.
The star anise tree has long, narrow and shiny aromatic leaves
with green-yellow flowers that are by contrast scentless. The tree
bears fruit in its sixth year and can continue to do so for 100 years.
The fruits are picked prior to being ripe when they are still green
and are sun-dried. During drying the carpels harden and darken to a
deep reddish brown and the aromatic compounds fully develop.
