Star Anise look very attractive – but, boy, I regretted it
the first time I followed a recipe and put several into a dish – the flavour
was so strong. I now just break pieces
off them and use them sparingly. Unlike
many spices these little babies will stay ok for up to 5 years.
The bulk of the world's
star anise is grown in China. It comes
from a member of the magnolia family. I
was interested to learn that the active ingredient in Tamiflu (the flu fighter)
comes from star anise. The trees produce
these fruits after 6 years but then can keep on producing for up to a century!
A basic spice in Chinese
dishes. Is a main ingredient in 5 spice
powder.
Star anise are actually
quite sweet – sweeter than sugar!
Star anise goes well with
duck or pork.
Try poaching rhubarb
with a star anise. Try adding it to your
mince mixture in cottage pie. I have
seen a suggestion of adding a little ground star anise into a chocolate mousse –
I can't quite imagine what this would be like.
My recipes using star anise – Home
Made Chicken Noodle Soup and Sichuan
ribs
BIBLIOGRAPHY - with thanks to Auckland Libraries
Cook's Encyclopaedia
of Spices by Sallie Morris & Lesley Mackley
Discovering
Vegetables, Herbs & Spices by Susanna Lyle
Spice Market by Jane
Lawson
Spicery by Ian &
Elizabeth Hemphill
Spices & Natural
Flavourings by Jennifer Mulherin
Spices by Sophie
Grigson
Spices Condiments and
Seasonings by Kenneth T Farrell
Spices, Salt and
Aromatics in the English Kitchen by Elizabeth David
The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander
Interesting info.
ReplyDeleteI haven't done much cooking with star anise. Now I am tempted to go find some and see what I'm missing out on!
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