Top Spice to try this Month

Relax and involve all your senses in eating well. Begin with the sensory aspect of smell. Smell Star Anise! This beautiful fruit comes from an Oriental tree that is small, rugged and rust colored. The skin is tough.

Star of Anise

I have never met a spice that I did not like. Yet I have met one or two that did not like me. But it wouldn’t be Star Anise because we happily agree. The fruit of the medium-sized evergreen tree is picked before it can ripen, then it is dried in the native lands of northeast Vietnam and southwest China. It adds an unforgettably attractive subtle licorice flavor to your dish or dessert because of the anethole — an essential oil that it contains. Before my experience with it, I didn’t know that I liked licorice.

Star of Anise is a spice (made from the fruit) that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years for its bioactive compounds that are powerful in treating viral, bacterial and fungal infections; therefore, this spice fits well within the group of culinary herbs and spices as a health and nutrition “star”. The health promoting compounds that begin with flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds work alongside a list of others to contribute to the antioxidant, antimicrobial and anit-inflammatory properties.

You’ll find it used in Indian, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese and and Chinese cooking. I don’t know where I first experienced it, but it was love on the first bite. In the named cuisines, it is used as a flavor enhancer for soups, broths and curries and can often be found alongside cinnamon, clove and cardamom. I actually like to use it — unadvisedly — with dark chocolate! Many of my customers love it too! To each his/her own. Add a whole pod to your next pot of soup. It does not disintegrate, so you will need to take it out before service.