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    Anise (Pimpinella anisum L.)

    Synonyms

    pharmFructus Anisi
    AlbanianAnason, Glikanxo
    Arabicحبة الحلوة, ينسون, كمون حلو, أنيسون
    حَبَّةُ الحُلْوَة, يانْسُون
    Habbet hilwa, Habbu al-hulwah, Yansoon, Yansun, Anisun, Kamun halu, Kamoon halou
    ArmenianԱնիսոն
    Anison
    BasqueAnis
    BengaliSulpha
    BulgarianАнасон
    Anason
    CatalanAnís, Comí
    ChinesePa chio, Yan kok
    Chinese
    (Cantonese)    		大茴香 [daaih wùih hēung], 洋茴香 [yèuhng wùih hēung]
    Daai wuih heong, Yeung wuih heong
    Chinese
    (Mandarin)    		大茴香 [dà huí xiāng], 洋茴香 [yáng huí xiāng]
    Da hui xiang, Huei hsiang, Yang hui xiang
    CroatianAnis
    CzechAnýz, Anýz vonný
    Danish(Grøn) anis
    DutchAnijs, Wilde pimpernel, Nieszaad, Groene anijs
    EnglishSweet cumin, Aniseed
    EsperantoAnizo
    EstonianHarilik aniis
    Farsiانیسون, بادیان رومی
    Anisun, Badiyan romi
    FinnishAnisruoho, Anis
    FrenchAnis vert, Boucage
    FrisianAnys
    GalicianAnís
    GermanAnis
    GreekΓλυκάνισο, Άνισον
    Glikaniso, Glykaniso, Anison
    GujaratiVariyali
    Hebrewאניס
    Anis
    HindiSaunf, Patli saunf, Vilayati saunf
    HungarianÁnizs
    IcelandicAnís
    IndonesianJinten manis
    ItalianAnice, Anice verde
    Japaneseアニス
    Anisu
    Kannadaಲಕ್ಕೋ ಸೋಂಪು
    Lakko sompu
    Korean아니스, 에니시드
    Anisu, Enisidu
    LatvianAnīss
    LithuanianAnyžius, Anyžinė ožiažolė
    Marathiबडीशेप
    Badishep, Shauf
    NorwegianAnis
    PolishAnyż, Biedrzeniec anyż
    PortugueseAnis, Anis verde, Erva-doce
    ProvençalAnis
    RomanianAnason
    RussianАнис
    Anis
    SanskritShatapushpa
    SlovakAníz, Bedrovník anízový, Anyž, Bederník anyžový
    SlovenianJanež, Vrtni janež
    SpanishAnís, Matalahuga
    SwedishAnis
    TagalogAnis
    Tamilஅனீசு, மகம்பூ, நட்சத்திரசீரகம்
    Anisu, Magambu, Natchattirajiragam
    Teluguసొంపు
    Sompu
    Thaiเทียนสัตตบุษย์
    Thian sattapusyat
    TurkishAnason, Enisen, Enison, Ezertere, Mesir otu, Nanahan, Raziyanei-rumi
    UkrainianАніс
    Anis
    VietnameseCây hồi, Tiểu hồi
    Cay hoi, Tieu hoi
    Pimpinella anisum: Anis fruits
    Dried anise fruits (also termed anis seeds)

    Used plant part

    Fruits, which are often termed “seeds”, though this is not botanically correct.

    Plant family

    Apiaceae (parsley family).

    Sensory quality

    Sweet and very aromatic. See cicely for other spices with a similar fragrance.
    For an overview on sweet spices, see licorice.

    Main constituents

    The aroma of the essential oil (up to 3% in the fruits) is dominated by trans-anethole (max. 90%). Additional aroma components are estragol (iso-anethole, 2%), anise aldehyde (less than 1%), anise alcohol, p-methoxy-acetophenone, pinene, limonene, γ-himachalene (2%). An unusual compound is the phenol ester 4-methoxy-2-(1-propene-yl)-phenol-2-methyl-butyrate, which is characteristic for anise (5%).
    Older books (e.g., Melchior and Kastner) mention that anise, especially of Italian origin, may contain small amounts of highly toxic hemlock fruits. This warning seems now to be obsolete; you'll probably not share Sokrates' fate just after enjoying one anise biscuit.
    Pimpinella anisum: Anis flower
    Anise flower

    Origin

    Eastern Mediterranean (Egypt?) or West Asia. Turkey is still an important producer in our days, but still better qualities come from Spain.

    In Far Eastern cuisines (India, Iran, Indonesia), no distinction is made between anise and fennel (see below). Therefore, the same name is usually given to both of them. On the Philippines, star anise is a popular spice and referred to as “anise” for short.

    Etymology

    The spice got its ancient names (Latin anisum from Greek anison [ἄνισον] or anneson [ἄννησον]) by confusion with with dill, which in Greek was known as aneton [ἄνητον].

    Names of anise in virtually all European languages are derived from Latin anisum, with very little variation: The form anis is valid in a large number of languages, including Norwegian, Croatian, Finnish, Russian (written анис) Ukrainian (written [аніс]) and Hebrew (written אניס). Examples for names in other languages are Icelandic anís, Latvian anīss, Hungarian ánizs Czech anýz, Polish anyż, Estonian aniis, Italian anice, Romanian anason, Arabic yanason [يانسون], Urdu anisuan [انیسواں] and Farsi anisun [انیسون].

    Sanskrit shatapushpa [शतपुष्प] literally means “a hundred flowers” and probably refers to the flower cluster (umbel). The Sanskrit name was also applied to related plants, and some modern languages have borrowed the term from Sanskrit in non-compatible meanings. For example, thian-sattapusyat [เทียนสัตตบุษย์] is the name of anise fruits in Thai herbal medicine, but in the South Indian language Telugu, shatapushpamu [శతపుష్పము] means “dill”.

    The Hindi name saunf [सौंफ] properly denotes fennel, which anise is thought to be a foreign variety of and which is often used interchangeably with anise. To distinguish anise clearly from fennel, the specialized terms patli saunf [पतली सौंफ] “thin fennel” or vilayati saunf [विलायती सौंफ] “foreign fennel” may be used.

    Some languages name anise as a “sweet” variant of other, related spices; for example, Indonesian jinten manis and Arabic kamun halu [كمون حلو] both mean “sweet cumin”, a name which is also sometimes heard in English. Arabic has another, similar name habbu al-hulwa [حبة الحلوة] “sweet grains”. Portuguese erva doce “sweet herb” may denote anise, fennel or occasionally other sweet plants like sweetleaf (Stevia rebaudiana).

    Selected Links

    A Pinch of Anise (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Anise Medical Spice Exhibit: Anise Nature One Health: Anise Transport Information Service: Anisseed Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Anis (biozac.de) chemikalienlexikon.de: Anethol chemikalienlexikon.de: Anisaldehyde

    Pimpinella anisum: Anis (flowering plants)
    Anise (flowering plants)

    www.botanikus.de

    In Western cuisine, anise is mostly restricted to bread and cakes; occasionally, fruit products are aromatized with anise. In small dosage, anise seeds are sometimes contained in spice mixtures for sausages and stews. Their main applications are, however, anise-flavoured liquors, of which there are many in different Mediterranean countries: Rakı in Turkey, Ouzo [Ούζο] in Greece and Pernod in France; see also mugwort on absinthe. In many cases, oil of anise is substituted by oil of star anise in these products, at least partially.

    In the East, anise is less known, fennel and star anise being more easily available and more popular. Anise may substitute fennel in Northern Indian recipes, but it is a less suited substitute for star anise in Chinese foods.

    Anise appears occasionally in Mexican recipes, but I am not sure whether Mexican cooks would use it when and if their native anise-flavoured herbs (Mexican tarragon and Mexican pepper-leaf) are available. Anyway, anise is an acceptable substitute for both, although tarragon is even better.

    Several plants exemanate an aroma comparable to that of anise. Within the Apiaceae (parsley family), both fennel and cicely copy anise's aroma quite perfectly; to a lesser extent, chervil and dill also resemble anise, although their anise fragrance is not that pure as in the former mentioned plants. See cicely for a larger list of anise-scented plants.

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    Modification date: 9 Sep 1998