Anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves,… are all dry spices that are used in cooking very often in many families. Anise is an indispensable spice, especially in traditional dishes such as pho. However, where does anise come from and what are the uses of anise are common questions of many people. Let’s learn everything about this spice right below
1 What is anise?
Anise, also known as star anise, is a plant originating in China and northeastern Vietnam. This is a spice plant with effects and aroma similar to anise, collected from the peel of the fruit. The characteristics of this tree are that it is quite small in shape, only 6-10m long, the trunk is straight and smooth and has a gray-brown color.
Normally, anise will have 6-8 petals, arranged in a star shape with a diameter of 2.5 to 3 cm, each petal carries a small, smooth, egg-shaped seed inside. Most of the harvested star anise flowers will be dried and exported as dried flowers, only a small part is processed into essential oil.
2 Benefits and uses of star anise
Use in health care: According to Colonel, Doctor Nguyen Ba Vuong – Tam Minh Duong Traditional Medicine Clinic, when using pure star anise to soak in wine, it will be effective in supporting the treatment of diseases such as colds, headaches, stomachaches, digestive diseases, coughs and bone and joint diseases. In addition, star anise is also effective in treating fungal skin diseases, scabies, pain relief, bruising, cough treatment, expectoration… and many other medicinal effects.
In addition, anise essential oil is also one of the best cosmetics in beauty. Just use anise essential oil combined with hot water to steam your face 1 to 2 times a week and it will bring you a Bright, smooth and acne-free skin.
Used in cuisine: Star anise is also one of the best spices that famous chefs always like to use in their dishes. Using star anise in dishes skillfully will help elevate the dish to a completely new flavor. To fully utilize the delicate flavors of star anise, chefs often roast star anise and then use it to marinate or use it in soups, soups, curries or stews to help stimulate the flavor. feel better, eat better.
Beneficial for breastfeeding mothers: According to folk experience, people often add star anise to the dishes of postpartum women to help the milk smell better and come in more.
Other uses: In addition to the above effects, star anise also has other uses such as preparing cold medicine, wine, candy, or making fishing bait,… For fishing, you Just mix star anise powder with ingredients like soybean flour, chopped carrots, bread crumbs, rice bran and ferment them all together with pork broth overnight, you will have an excellent bait.
Star anise with its wonderful uses will be a great spice for dishes, a perfect cosmetic for beauty and has countless other uses in life.
