Star Anise - A Tasty and Versatile Spice With a Licorice Flavor

Star anise plants have attractive, unusual and flavorful fruits which smell and taste like licorice. The fruit is brown and woody, and is shaped like a star with eight rays, or a flower with eight petals. Each “petal” or seed pod contains a brown seed. The fruit is aromatic and has a strong, pungent and mildly sweet licorice taste that somewhat resembles the weaker taste of anise seeds. Anise is an unrelated plant, despite its similar name. Star anise is sold as whole fruits, pieces of fruit or as a ground spice. The best spice flavor is obtained when the fruit is ground just before use. The stars or ground spice are tasty additions to both sweet and savory foods.

There’s one very important precaution that must be taken when purchasing or using star anise, especially when it's sold as a tea. The fruits must come from the plant with the scientific name Illicium verum, which is often known as Chinese star anise. This is an evergreen shrub or small tree that grows mainly in parts of China and Vietnam and produces fruits that are safe to eat. Japanese star anise (scientific name Illicium anisatum) is a related plant, but its fruits are toxic and dangerous when they enter the body. Both plants are often simply called “star anise”, so a consumer needs to check carefully to ensure that pure Chinese star anise is present in their spice. Reputable companies make sure that their star anise is the Chinese species, but it's still important to be careful.

A star anise fruit generally has eight seed pods, although the number can vary. It has a complex taste in which the dominating licorice flavor is accompanied by a background that is minty and tangy at the same time. Star anise provides a lovely flavor to teas, infusions and mulled cider. Adding one or two stars to slow cooked foods such as stewed fruit, savory stews, beans and simmered meats enhances the taste. The stars are generally removed before the food is served. The ground spice is a great addition to baked goods like cakes and cookies, and some people like to add it to cooked porridges and grains.

Star anise is an ingredient in Chinese five spice powder, a popular seasoning in Asia that traditionally contains ground cloves, cinnamon, fennel, star anise and Szechwan peppercorns, although today a different spice combination may be used in the recipe. The powder is used with poultry, pork and seafood, and sometimes with stir-fried vegetables too. It's also used in desserts. Garam masala, a popular Indian and South Asian spice mixture, commonly contains star anise as well.

Some other dishes which traditionally contain star anise are Vietnamese pho, a type of beef noodle soup which contains a broth made from spices and marrow bones, and tea eggs, a popular snack in China and Chinese communities. To make tea eggs, hard boiled eggs are cracked and then placed in a tea which contains spices. The liquid is absorbed into the shell and into the egg itself, creating a marbled effect. The eggs are eaten cold.

An essential oil can be extracted from star anise and used as a flavoring agent in items such as jams and liqueurs. Anisette, sambuca and ouzo are usually flavored with star anise oil instead of oil from anise seeds, since star anise is cheaper to obtain.

Star anise may be used with other strongly scented spices to provide fragrance to a room, and the fruits are sometimes chewed as a breath freshener. However, the intact fruit has a woody texture which isn't very appealing, and I find that chewing it irritates my mouth and tongue, unless I use only a small amount of a star.

Star anise contains a relatively high level of shikimic acid compared to other plants. The shikimic acid is extracted from star anise and is used as the first substance in a series of reactions that ends with the production of oseltamivir. Oseltamivir is a prescription medication that fights both influenza A and influenza B viruses and is sold under the trade name of Tamiflu. Shikimic acid for Tamiflu manufacture is also obtained from fermentation of glucose by a special strain of E. coli bacteria. Like many other medications, Tamiflu has side effects, some of which may be serious.

Star anise may have health benefits. It contains a substance called anethole, which is responsible for the licorice flavor of star anise fruits, anise seeds and fennel seeds. Anethole is dissolved in the oil inside the plant and is insoluble in water. It’s an antibacterial and antifungal chemical, but whether star anise fruits fight bacteria and fungi isn't known yet. Star anise has traditionally been used to relieve discomfort in the digestive system and to treat colds.

Chinese star anise has been used as a spice for a long time without harmful effects. However, Japanese star anise contains sikimitoxin, which causes convulsions, and anisatin, which also causes dangerous neurological effects.

In my area I can get packets of star anise fruits in a nearby produce store and in a health food store, but not in my nearest supermarket. Star anise is also sold online. The whole stars can be added to a dish that contains liquid to provide an infusion of flavor, or they can be crushed in a coffee grinder and mixed with food. Cooks often state that one ground star anise fruit equals 1/2 teaspoon of ground anise seeds. Star anise should be used in small quantities, since its flavor is strong and could overwhelm the taste of a food if a large amount is added. In a small amount, though, star anise is a delicious flavor enhancer for foods.