Anise (;
The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, liquorice, and tarragon. It is widely cultivated and used to flavor food, candy, and alcoholic drinks, especially around the Mediterranean.
Etymology
The name "anise" is derived via
Old French from the Latin words anīsum or anēthum from Greek ἄνηθον
ánēthon referring to
dill.
An obsolete English word for anise is anet, also coming from anīsum.
Botany
Anise is an
herbaceous annual plant growing to or more. The
leaves at the base of the plant are simple, long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery or lacy,
Pinnate leaf, divided into numerous small leaflets.
Both leaves and flowers are produced in large, loose clusters. The are either white or yellow, approximately in diameter, produced in dense .
The fruit is a dry oblong and curved schizocarp, long, usually called "aniseed".
Ecology
Anise is a food plant for the
of some
Lepidoptera species (
butterflies and
), including the
lime-speck pug and
wormwood pug.
Cultivation
Anise was first cultivated in
Egypt and the
Middle East, and was brought to
Europe for its medicinal value. It has been cultivated in Egypt for approximately 4,000 years.
Anise plants grow best in light, fertile, well-drained soil. The seeds should be planted as soon as the ground warms up in spring. Because the plants have a taproot, they do not transplant well after being established so they should either be started in their final location or be transplanted while the seedlings are still small.
Production
Western cuisines have long used anise to flavor dishes, drinks, and candies. The word is used for both the species of herb and its
licorice-like flavor. The most powerful flavor component of the
essential oil of anise,
anethole, is found in both anise and an unrelated spice indigenous to
South China called star anise (
Illicium verum) widely used in
,
and
dishes. Star anise is considerably less expensive to produce and has gradually displaced
P. anisum in Western markets. While formerly produced in larger quantities, by 1999 world production of the essential oil of anise was only 8
metric ton, compared to 400 tons of star anise.
Uses
Composition
As with all spices, the composition of anise varies considerably with origin and cultivation method. These are typical values for the main constituents.
[J.S. Pruthi: Spices and Condiments, New Delhi: National Book Trust (1976), p. 19.]
- Moisture: 9–13%
- Protein: 18%
- Fatty oil: 8–23%
- Essential oil: 2–7%
- Starch: 5%
- N-free extract: 22–28%
- Crude fibre: 12–25%
In particular, the anise seeds products should also contain more than 0.2 milliliter volatile oil per 100 grams of spice.
Culinary
Anise is sweet and
odor, distinguished by its characteristic flavor.
[ The seeds, whole or ground, are used for preparation of and herbal tea]
The culinary uses of anise are not limited only to sweets and confections, as it is a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine atole and champurrado, which is similar to hot chocolate. In India and Pakistan, it is taken as a digestive after meals, used in in the Italian region of Apulia and as a flavoring agent in Italian sausage, pepperoni and other Italian processed meat products.
Liquor
Anise is used to flavour Greek ouzo and Bulgarian mastika;[ Italian sambuca;][ French absinthe, anisette,][ and Herbs de Majorca;][ Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli ;][ Outside the Mediterranean region, it is found in Colombian aguardiente]
Anise is used together with other herbs and spices in some , such as Virgil's in the United States.
Traditional medicine
The main use of anise in traditional European herbal medicine was for its carminative effect (reducing flatulence), as noted by John Gerard in his Great Herball, an early encyclopedia of herbal medicine:
The seed wasteth and consumeth winde, and is good against belchings and upbraidings of the stomach, alaieth gripings of the belly, provoketh urine gently, maketh abundance of milke, and stirreth up bodily lust: it staieth the laske (diarrhea), and also the white flux (leukorrhea) in women.[John Gerard, The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes , 1597, p. 880, side 903]
According to Pliny the Elder, anise was used as a cure for sleeplessness, chewed with alexanders and a little honey in the morning to freshen the breath, and, when mixed with wine, as a remedy for asp bites (N.H. 20.72).[Baytop, T. (1999) Therapy with medicinal plants in Turkey, Past and Present. Kitapevi, Istanbul, Turkey, 2nd edition, pp. 142.]
Essential oil
Anise essential oil can be obtained from the fruits by either steam distillation or extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide.[Jodral, Manuel Miro. Illicium, Pimpinella and Foeniculum. CRC Press, 2004. pp. 205]
Other uses
Builders of in Britain incorporated capsules of aniseed oil into white metal so the distinctive smell would give warning in case of overheating.
Further reading
