Star Anise

Botanical Name: Illicium verum
Common name: Chinese Anise, Badiana, Badian, Badain, Aniseed Stars

Description
Star Anise is the dried star shaped fruit of an evergreen tree native to China. It has a strong licorice flavor and aroma. Star Anise is not related to the common Anise, but it does have a similar scent and flavor. It is more pungently liquorice-like and has a distinctive sweet note. Star anise is used whole to flavor soups and some Chinese pork recipes and used ground in some poultry dishes. It is an ingredient in Chinese 5-spice. In recent years, the spice has been rediscovered by Western chefs and is often added to fish stews.

Uses with
Cinnamon, Coriander, Fennel, Garlic & Soy Sauce. The Chinese often add star anise to poultry and pork dishes; it is also a key ingredient in five-spice powder. The Vietnamese use the spice in their beef soup, pho. It is an ideal flavoring for roast chicken, and goes well with braised fish, scallops, and in clear soups.

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Like anise, star anise has carminative, stomachic, stimulant and diuretic properties. In the East it is used to combat colic and rheumatism. It is a common flavouring for medicinal teas, cough mixtures and pastilles