Anise

Anise (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:Cite LPD</ref> Template:Lang), also called aniseed or rarely anix,Template:Sfn is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae<ref name="WFO"/> native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise,Template:Sfn fennel, liquorice, and tarragon. It is widely cultivated and used to flavor food, candy, and alcoholic drinks, especially around the Mediterranean.

Etymology

The name "anise" is derived via Old French from the Latin words Template:Lang or Template:Lang from Greek Template:Lang ánēthon referring to dill.<ref>Template:Cite dictionary</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An obsolete English word for anise is anet, also coming from anīsum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Botany

Anise is an herbaceous annual plant growing to Template:Convert or more. The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, Template:Convert long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery or lacy, pinnate, divided into numerous small leaflets.<ref name=AskIFAS>Template:Cite web</ref>

Both leaves and flowers are produced in large, loose clusters. The flowers are either white or yellow, approximately Template:Convert in diameter, produced in dense umbels.

The fruit is a dry oblong and curved schizocarp, Template:Convert long, usually called "aniseed".<ref name="AskIFAS"/><ref name=Gernot>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ecology

Anise is a food plant for the larvae of some Lepidoptera species (butterflies and moths), including the lime-speck pug and wormwood pug.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cultivation

Anise was first cultivated in Egypt and the Middle East, and was brought to Europe for its medicinal value.Template:Sfn It has been cultivated in Egypt for approximately 4,000 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Anise plants grow best in light, fertile, well-drained soil. The seeds should be planted as soon as the ground warms up in spring. Because the plants have a taproot, they do not transplant well after being established so they should either be started in their final location or be transplanted while the seedlings are still small.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production

Western cuisines have long used anise to flavor dishes, drinks, and candies. The word is used for both the species of herb and its licorice-like flavor. The most powerful flavor component of the essential oil of anise, anethole, is found in both anise and an unrelated spice indigenous to South China<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> called star anise (Illicium verum) widely used in South Asian, Southeast Asian and East Asian dishes. Star anise is considerably less expensive to produce and has gradually displaced P. anisum in Western markets. While formerly produced in larger quantities, by 1999 world production of the essential oil of anise was only 8 tons, compared to 400 tons of star anise.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Uses

Composition

As with all spices, the composition of anise varies considerably with origin and cultivation method. These are typical values for the main constituents.<ref>J.S. Pruthi: Spices and Condiments, New Delhi: National Book Trust (1976), p. 19.</ref>

Moisture: 9–13%

Protein: 18%

Fatty oil: 8–23%

Essential oil: 2–7%

Starch: 5%

N-free extract: 22–28%

Crude fibre: 12–25%

In particular, the anise seeds products should also contain more than 0.2 milliliter volatile oil per 100 grams of spice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Culinary

File:Troach sweet - 2018-08-21 - Andy Mabbett.jpg

An unwrapped 'Troach drop', purchased at the Black Country Living Museum in the English Midlands, where such sweets are traditional

Anise is sweet and aromatic, distinguished by its characteristic flavor.<ref name=Gernot/> The seeds, whole or ground, are used for preparation of teas and tisanes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (alone or in combination with other aromatic herbs), as well many regional and ethnic confectioneries, including black jelly beans (often marketed as licorice-flavored), British aniseed balls, aniseed twists<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and "troach" drops, Australian humbugs, New Zealand aniseed wheels, Italian pizzelle and biscotti, German Pfeffernüsse and Springerle, Austrian Anisbögen, Dutch muisjes, New Mexican bizcochitos and Peruvian picarones.Template:Citation needed

The culinary uses of anise are not limited only to sweets and confections, as it is a key ingredient in Mexican atole de anís and champurrado, which is similar to hot chocolate.Template:Citation needed In India and Pakistan, it is taken as a digestive after meals, used in brines in the Italian region of Apulia and as a flavoring agent in Italian sausage, pepperoni and other Italian processed meat products.<ref name="Peter 2012 143">Template:Cite book</ref> The freshly chopped leaves are added to cheese spreads, dips or salads, while roots and stems impart a mild licorice flavor to soups and stews.<ref name="Peter 2012 143"/>

The ancient Romans often served spiced cakes with aniseed called Template:Lang at the end of feasts as a digestive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This tradition of serving cake at the end of festivities is the basis for the tradition of serving cake at weddings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Liquor

File:Anise alcohols Mediterranean map.svg

Anise alcohols of the Mediterranean region

Anise is used to flavour Greek Template:Lang and Bulgarian Template:Lang;<ref name=Monde/> Italian Template:Lang;<ref name=Monde/> French Template:Lang, Template:Lang,<ref name=":0" /> and Template:Lang;<ref name="Jr.Fahey2003">Template:Cite book</ref> Portuguese Template:Lang which has an aniseed stem in each bottle crystallised with sugar, Spanish Template:Lang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Lang,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Lang,<ref name=Monde/> and Herbs de Majorca;<ref name="Spaininfo">Template:Cite web</ref> Turkish and Armenian Template:Lang;<ref name=Monde/> Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli Template:Transliteration;<ref name=Monde>Template:Cite news</ref> and Algerian Template:Lang.<ref name=Monde/> Outside the Mediterranean region, it is found in Colombian Template:Lang<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> and Mexican Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These liqueurs are clear, but on addition of water become cloudy, a phenomenon known as the ouzo effect.<ref name="Sitnikova2005">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Anise is used together with other herbs and spices in some root beers, such as Virgil's in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Traditional medicine

The main use of anise in traditional European herbal medicine was for its carminative effect (reducing flatulence),Template:Sfn as noted by John Gerard in his Great Herball, an early encyclopedia of herbal medicine:

The seed wasteth and consumeth winde, and is good against belchings and upbraidings of the stomach, alaieth gripings of the belly, provoketh urine gently, maketh abundance of milke, and stirreth up bodily lust: it staieth the laske (diarrhea), and also the white flux (leukorrhea) in women.<ref name=Gerard>John Gerard, The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes Template:Webarchive, 1597, p. 880, side 903</ref>

According to Pliny the Elder, anise was used as a cure for sleeplessness, chewed with alexanders and a little honey in the morning to freshen the breath, and, when mixed with wine, as a remedy for asp bites (N.H. 20.72).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 19th-century medicine, anise was prepared as Template:Lang ("Water of Anise") in doses of an ounce or more and as Template:Lang ("Spirit of Anise") in doses of 5–20 minims.Template:Sfn In Turkish folk medicine, its seeds have been used as an appetite stimulant, tranquilizer or diuretic.<ref>Baytop, T. (1999) Therapy with medicinal plants in Turkey, Past and Present. Kitapevi, Istanbul, Turkey, 2nd edition, pp. 142.</ref>

Essential oil

File:AniseEssOil.png

Anise essential oil

Anise essential oil can be obtained from the fruits by either steam distillation or extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide.<ref name="co2">Template:Cite journal</ref> The yield of essential oil is influenced by the growing conditions<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and extraction process, with supercritical extraction being more efficient.<ref name="co2" /> Regardless of the method of isolation the main component of the oil is anethole (80–90%), with minor components including 4-anisaldehyde, estragole and pseudoisoeugenyl-2-methylbutyrates amongst others.<ref name="Rodrigues-et-al-2003">Template:Cite journal</ref> (Alternately found by Orav et al. 2008 to be 2–6% extracted oil by weight of raw seed material, 74–94% being trans-anethole and the remaining fraction estragole (methylchavicol), anisaldehyde and γ-himachalene.)<ref name="Sayed-Ahmad-et-al-2017">Template:Cite journal</ref> Anethole is responsible for anise's characteristic odor and flavor.<ref>Jodral, Manuel Miro. Illicium, Pimpinella and Foeniculum. CRC Press, 2004. pp. 205</ref>

Other uses

Builders of steam locomotives in Britain incorporated capsules of aniseed oil into white metal plain bearings so the distinctive smell would give warning in case of overheating.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Anise can be made into a liquid scent and is used for both drag hunting and fishing. It is put on fishing lures to attract fish.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Further reading

• Template:Cite EB9
• Template:Cite EB1911