What is anise? Anise benefits and ways to use anise

anise

Anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, … are all dry spices often used in cooking very often in many families. Among them, star anise is an indispensable spice, especially in traditional dishes such as pho. However, where does anise come from and what are its uses are the common questions of many people. Let’s learn all about this spice right here

What is anise?

Anise is a plant native to China and northeastern Vietnam . This is a spice plant with effects and aroma similar to anise, obtained from the pods. The characteristic of this tree is that it has a rather small shape, only 6-10m, the trunk is straight and smooth and has a gray-brown color.

Usually anise will have 6-8 petals, arranged in a star shape with a diameter of 2.5 to 3 cm , each wing carrying inside a small smooth egg-shaped seed. Most of the star anise flowers when harvested will be dried, exported as dried flowers, only a small part is processed into essential oils.

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 anise flowers to soak with alcohol will have the effect of supporting the treatment of diseases such as: colds, headaches, stomachaches, digestive and cough diseases and bone and joint diseases . In addition, star anise is also effective in treating fungal skin diseases, scabies, pain relief, bruise reduction, cough, expectorant … and many other healing effects.

In addition, anise essential oil is also one of the best cosmetics in beauty, just using anise oil combined with hot water to steam your face 1 to 2 times per week will bring you a smooth and clear skin.

Culinary use : Star anise is also one of the best spices that famous chefs always love to use in dishes. Using star anise in dishes skillfully will help elevate the dish to a whole new flavor. To get the most out of the delicate flavors of anise, chefs often roast anise and then use it to marinate or use it in soups, curries, or stews to stimulate the taste. feel, eat more delicious.

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Beneficial for lactating mothers : According to folk experience, people often add star anise to the dishes of women after giving birth to help the milk smell better and come back more .

Other uses : In addition to the above effects, star anise also has other effects such as preparing cold medicine, alcohol, candy, or fishing bait,… For fishing, you just mix star anise powder with ingredients like soybean meal, shredded carrots, bread guts, rice bran and then incubate them all with pork broth overnight, you will have an excellent bait.

Star anise with its wonderful uses will be a wonderful spice for dishes, a perfect cosmetic for beauty and also has countless other uses in life.

Source: Synthesis

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