Anise

It is the little relative of caraway: anise. In this country, the crescent-shaped fruits are used more for sweet preparations. But its aromatic taste also harmonizes with fish and meat dishes. In this country, aniseed fruits are often used in bread and baked goods, cookies, etc. They are also used as pickles for fruit and vegetables…

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Botany
Ingredients, smell and taste
Use and preparation

Botany

Anise (real anise, Pimpinella anisum) is an annual herb up to 80 centimeters high with many small white flowers that are arranged in double umbels. The flowers become so-called split fruits, each of which disintegrates into two partial fruits. Together with fennel, dille and caraway, anise belongs to the umbelliferae family (Apiaceae). The anise is also known by the popular name “Sweet Caraway”. The split fruits used as a spice are visually similar to the caraway fruits. Anise fruits are approx. Three to four millimeters long and have longitudinal ribs on the sides, the individual partial fruits have five ribs. In contrast to caraway seeds, aniseed fruits have a rather rough surface and are gray-green to brown-yellowish. Anise is harvested when it is not ripe, otherwise the fruit would easily fall out during harvest.

Star anise (Illicium verum) is to be seen independently of anise, as it belongs to a different plant family (star anise family, Illiciaceae). Star anise comes from a tree up to eight meters high, the fruits are follicles. Even if they have nothing in common botanically, anise and star anise are very similar in aroma.

Ingredients, smell and taste

The real anise has a sweetish-spicy taste and is slightly reminiscent of liquorice. The main component in the essential oil is trans-anethole. Star anise also has anethole in its essential oil. Its aroma is also close to liquorice, and a slight sharpness can also be felt in the taste.

Use and preparation

Anise fruits are used whole or ground as a spice. The fresh leaves are also suitable for consumption - like the fruit, they taste sweet to liquorice-like and are suitable, for example, as salad herbs. Anise fruits are mainly used to season sweet preparations, less often for savory dishes. In this country, their use in bread and baked goods, biscuits (aniseed arches) etc. is typical. They are also used as a pickling spice for fruit and vegetables such as pickles. In the beverage industry, anise is used as the basis for liqueurs and spirits, well-known examples include ouzo and pastice. Even tightly closed, aniseed fruits cannot be stored for longer than a year as they quickly lose their aroma.

Tip Only grind the anise in a mortar shortly before use, because this is how it tastes most aromatic!