What is the difference between White Pepper and Black Pepper?
March 5, 2023
Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking. Along with its star-like appearance and distinctive aroma, it is one of the special spices that make up the appeal of many Asian dishes.
What is star anise?
Star anise is the seed pod from the fruit of the Illicium verum plant, an evergreen shrub native to Southwest China. The star anise pod has an average of eight points, each containing a single pea-sized seed.
Star anise is a spice tree, growing a lot in Vietnam. The tree is 6 – 10 meters high with a big and straight trunk, straight smooth branches, has light blue color when young and later turns to greyish brown.
Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking. Along with its star-like appearance and distinctive aroma, it is one of the special spices that make up the appeal of many Asian dishes.
Origin
Star Anise is native to Vietnam and Southern China; people used it for cooking and as a medicine for over 3,000 years.
The spice was enjoyed mostly within the Asian region until the late 1600s when an English sailor discovered it in the Philippines. This navigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish, brought the spice back to England, incorrectly placing its origin in the Philippines. The spice quickly gained popularity and spread into Russia and Germany via tea routes through the 18th century.
European settlers introduced to the New World. After that, people used medicinally and in the production of sweets. The star-shaped seedpods may be challenging to find in traditional grocery stores.
What Does It Taste Like?
It has a very strong, distinct flavor that is warm, sweet, and spicy, like licorice, fennel seed, clove, and anise seed, of course. Although the flavor is generally thought of as sweet, it is commonly used in savory dishes; it pairs well with citrus, onions, poultry, beef, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and should be used in small quantities.
Usage
Star Anise is a popular ingredient in many Asian and European cuisines. The seed pods are a pillar ingredient in Chinese cooking and are one of the five ingredients that make up the traditional Chinese Five spice. In Vietnamese cooking, the spice helps to create the distinctive broth for the soup, pho.
In Western cuisines, the spice is used mainly in sweet capacities, flavoring confections, bread, and cakes, and in the production of spirits like Absinthe, Sambuca, and Ouzo. People added soups, stews, curries, and braised meats.
Star Anise pairs well with citrus, figs, onions, poultry, and beef, as well as with other warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The pods can be ground into a fine powder and added to spice rubs, marinades, cookies, and cakes. The flavor will dissipate quickly after the pod has been ground, so it should be made in smaller quantities and used within a few weeks for optimum flavor.
What are the characteristics of Vietnamese star anise?
In Vietnam, people grew it a lot in Lang Son, Bac Can, Cao Bang,… with an area of more than 50,000 ha and becomes a rare product in these lands. Lang Son star anise products are rated as the best quality products with high essential oil content. There are 2 main crops: spring (March – April) and autumn (September – October). Therefore, we also have 2 types of these flowers: spring and autumn accordingly.
With a very strong, distinct flavor that is warm, sweet, and spicy, Vietnamese people can use in a variety of ways. People preserved it as a dried fruit, ground into a powder or specially made into an essential oil. People can use it as a medicine, spice, cosmetic, Anise has a characteristic aroma with the effect of disinfecting, enhancing resistance.
Vietnam is one of the largest star anise exporters in the world. People exported it to many countries such as India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, and Singapore, Vietnam is currently taking many measures to improve the yield and quality, in order to bring to many other potential markets in the future.
