Star Anise Flavors - Foods and Liquors
Star anise is a spice from the fruit of Illicium verum, a plant in the magnolia family.
Also known as star aniseed, Chinese anise or Badian anise, it imparts a licorice-aniseed flavor and aroma to many foods and several liquors.
The small evergreen tree that is native to China is grown in most Asian countries, including China and India.
The eight-rayed star-like fruits are harvested just before ripening.
These fruits are not fleshy like a peach and instead they seem to be more like seed vessels or seed pods.
Each pod contains a single brown, shiny seed.
The pods are dried in the sun where they turn to a deep reddish-brown color.
Star anise is sold either in whole or ground form and it's used in cooking for its anise-like flavor.
It's a cheap alternative to anise, which is an unrelated plant that contains the same essential oil, anethole, that gives the characteristic flavor and aroma.
It's used commercially in baking and in the production of licorice-like or anise-tasting liquors, for example, Sambuca, Galliano and absinthe.
Essential oil content of 1,4-cineol provides a cinnamon-like flavor to star anise.
Asian and Eastern foods often are flavored with this spice, including Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese dishes.
It is a major ingredient in Chinese Five Spice powder.
Therapeutically speaking, star anise may be used in tea to treat rheumatism.
It's used in Chinese traditional medicine for a number of ailments.
Indian Ayurveda also relies on it as a digestive aid and for treating intestinal ailments.
Baked goods prepared with star anise are protected from spoilage because it is a strong spice with anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.
A chemical that can be extracted from the fruit is used to make Tamiflu, an anti-influenza drug.
Even though synthetic means of producing this chemical precursor have been developed, pharmaceutical companies still purchase most of the annual crop for producing Tamiflu.
Flu epidemics have affected the availability and price of star anise due to its importance in making the anti-viral drug.
Chinese star anise, I.
verum, should not be confused with the Japanese variety, I.
anisatum, because it contains a highly toxic chemical that is not present in the true (Chinese) star anise.
Technical tests must be conducted to verify the identity in commerce because ingestion of the wrong type of star anise may be deadly.
The dried and processed forms can not be distinguished, so chemical tests are needed to tell them apart.
The presence of essential oil content of safrole and eugenol show the spice to be adulterated as those chemicals do not occur naturally in the true star anise.
A related evergreen shrub in Eastern US, Illicium floridanum, goes by the same name, but it's inedible.
It's also called stink-bush.
The attractive, scarlet red flowers smell fishy, and the foliage gives off an anise-like aroma when crushed.
Also known as star aniseed, Chinese anise or Badian anise, it imparts a licorice-aniseed flavor and aroma to many foods and several liquors.
The small evergreen tree that is native to China is grown in most Asian countries, including China and India.
The eight-rayed star-like fruits are harvested just before ripening.
These fruits are not fleshy like a peach and instead they seem to be more like seed vessels or seed pods.
Each pod contains a single brown, shiny seed.
The pods are dried in the sun where they turn to a deep reddish-brown color.
Star anise is sold either in whole or ground form and it's used in cooking for its anise-like flavor.
It's a cheap alternative to anise, which is an unrelated plant that contains the same essential oil, anethole, that gives the characteristic flavor and aroma.
It's used commercially in baking and in the production of licorice-like or anise-tasting liquors, for example, Sambuca, Galliano and absinthe.
Essential oil content of 1,4-cineol provides a cinnamon-like flavor to star anise.
Asian and Eastern foods often are flavored with this spice, including Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese dishes.
It is a major ingredient in Chinese Five Spice powder.
Therapeutically speaking, star anise may be used in tea to treat rheumatism.
It's used in Chinese traditional medicine for a number of ailments.
Indian Ayurveda also relies on it as a digestive aid and for treating intestinal ailments.
Baked goods prepared with star anise are protected from spoilage because it is a strong spice with anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.
A chemical that can be extracted from the fruit is used to make Tamiflu, an anti-influenza drug.
Even though synthetic means of producing this chemical precursor have been developed, pharmaceutical companies still purchase most of the annual crop for producing Tamiflu.
Flu epidemics have affected the availability and price of star anise due to its importance in making the anti-viral drug.
Chinese star anise, I.
verum, should not be confused with the Japanese variety, I.
anisatum, because it contains a highly toxic chemical that is not present in the true (Chinese) star anise.
Technical tests must be conducted to verify the identity in commerce because ingestion of the wrong type of star anise may be deadly.
The dried and processed forms can not be distinguished, so chemical tests are needed to tell them apart.
The presence of essential oil content of safrole and eugenol show the spice to be adulterated as those chemicals do not occur naturally in the true star anise.
A related evergreen shrub in Eastern US, Illicium floridanum, goes by the same name, but it's inedible.
It's also called stink-bush.
The attractive, scarlet red flowers smell fishy, and the foliage gives off an anise-like aroma when crushed.
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