Dried star anise fruits

Used plant part
The characteristically shaped fruits (pods), always used in dried state. Besides the regular eight-pointed shape, one rarely finds single specimen with a larger number of carpels.

The essential oil resides in the pericarp, not in the seed.

Plant family
Illiciaceae. This family is closely related to the magnoly family (Magnoliaceae).

Sensoric quality
Like anise, but stronger: Warm, sweet, aromatic. An overview on spices similar to anise is given under cicely.

For other sweet spices, see licorice.


Main constituents
The dried fruits may contain 5 to 8% of essential oil, which dominated by anethole (85 to 90%). The other components, phellandrene, safrole and terpineol, have only small effect on the aroma. Traces of 1,4 cineol can be used to distinguish star anise from anise, which (like most other spices) is free of this compound.

Origin
Southern China and Vietnam. The plant is not known in the wild state.

Most imports come from China, but the spice is also planted in Laos, on the Philippines and even in Jamaica.

Etymology
The Chinese names of star anise, Cantonese bat gok and Mandarin ba jiao both mean

Star anise flower

“eight corners, octogon” and allude to the eight-pointed shape of star anise fruits (“eight corner spice”). In Chinese herbal medicine, star anise is known as ba jiao hui xiang “eight-cornered fennel”.

Chinese (pronounced daai wuih heong in Cantonese and da hui xiang in Mandarin) “big fennel” denotes anise, not star anise. Nevertheless, the same Kanji in Japanese (pronounced daiuikyo ) mean star anise! Also the Korean name of star anise, daehoihyang , is adapted from that Chinese name.

English badian anise and related names in other European tongues (Spanish badián, Latvian badjans and Russian badyan) are derived from the Persian name of star anise, badiyan, whose origin is unknown to me. In English, and probably in other languages also, “badian” sounds archaic and obsolete; it is found only in historical recipes, not in contemporary cookbooks.

Since its extreme olfactoric similarity to anise, star anise is named after anise in many European countries. Quite often, a name for star anise if formed by combining the local name for anise with an epithet referring to the Asian origin or the characteristic star-like shape, e.g., Turkish çin anason and French anis de la Chine “China-Anise” and Estonian tähtaniis, Polish anyz gwiazdkowaty and Italian anice stellato, all meaning “starlike anise”. In the opposite way, European anise is known as hat hoi [h?t h?i] “grain-shaped star anise” in Vietnam and as badiyan romi “Roman star anise” in Iran.

The genus name Illicium is derived from Latin illicere “allure”, probably because of the sweet and attractive fragrance.

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The eight-pointed star-shaped pods of star anise are a popular spice in China. Chinese cookery is a quite complex matter and one of the oldest cooking traditions of the world.

Within this huge and heterogeneous country, a multitude of techniques for cooking, cutting and flavouring has been developed; yet spices play a less important part than in the cuisines of China's southern neighbours. Common to all regional styles is the aim to create a harmonic balance between what is called the “basic taste impressions”: sweet, sour, salty and pungent. In all other respects, regional styles differ greatly from each other.

Star anise twig with flowers

Stir-frying (chao or chow), which is the dominating cooking technique in Chinese restaurants of the Western Hemisphere (see ginger for an example) is but one of the numerous cooking techniques in China, and it is most characteristic of the mild Cantonese style (Guangzhou style) of cooking. Less often found in Chinese restaurants are the following two culinary styles: The rather more sweet Shanghai style is particularily known for the technique of red braising (see cassia), for which star anise is an indispensible spice. The Northern Beijing style, where rice gives way to wheat as the staple food, often prefers dry dishes which are not cooked in sauce; Beijing duck (beijing kao ya) is a prime example. Last, the hot Sichuan style must be mentioned: In the cool mountains, people flavour their food with chiles (often in form of hot bean paste) and the indigenous sichuan pepper; yet Sichuanese cooks make also use of orange peel, licorice, black cardamom and even local medical plants.

All over China, five spice powder (wu xiang fen, ng geung fun, ngung heung fun, hung-liu ). is known and valued. This spice mixture contains star anise, cassia (or cinnamon), cloves, fennel and sichuan pepper usually to equal parts. Optionally, ginger, galanga, black cardamom or even liquorice may be added. These spices should be kept whole and powdered before usage.

Five spice powder is often added to the batter of chinese-style fried vegetables or meat. Meat is also frequently coated with a mixture of corn starch and five spice powder and deep-fried. Lastly, it is often contained in marinades for meat to be stir-fried. Since the mixture is very aromatic, it should be used with care.

Star anise flower

The subtle aroma of five spice powder is particularily effective in steamed foods. Steamed pork belly can indeed be a delicacy, even if it is, of course, never low in fat. For this recipe, the so-called five-flower cut is used that consists of three fatty and two lean layers. The meat is marinated in soy sauce and garlic, coated by a mixture of five-spice powder and ground, toasted rice and steamed until very tender (wu hua rou [???]). This pork dish is very mild, but highly aromatic and pleasing. For more examples of star anise in Chinese cookery, see orange about the Sichuan-style beef stew au larm and cassia about master sauce.

Outside China, star anise is less valued. In the North of Vietnam, it is popular for beef soups (see Vietnamese cinnamon). Star anise is also used in Thailand: In the North, it is often employed in long-simmered stews; elsewhere, especially in the tropical South, it is a common flavourant for ice tea. Thai iced tea (cha dam yen) is brewed from black tea and flavoured with star anise powder, sometimes also cinnamon, licorice, vanilla and orange flowers; is is enjoyed with crushed ice, sugar and evaporated milk. To obtain a bright orange colour, azo dyes (typically, tartrazine) are usually added.

Star anise plays some rôle in Persian and Pakistani (and therefrom, North Indian) cuisine; from India it was introduced to Indonesia, but is today hardly ever used except in the palaces of sultans still adhering to a Royal Indian cooking style (e.g., in Medan in the North-East of Sumatra). Star anise is also employed by the Arabic-influenced cooking of Malaysia and Southern Thailand; see coconut for an example.

Star anise has also found limited use in the West, where its main application is as a (cheaper) substitute for anise in mulled wine, desserts and, most importantly, in liqueurs. Most anise liqueurs (Pernod, Anisette, Pastis) have the anise partly substituted by star anise (see also mugwort on absinthe