Anise Information

Anise, or Aniseed as it’s sometimes described, is one of the main ingredients of Absinthe and is also the chief flavoring in Ouzo, a Greek alcoholic drink.

Its botanical period is Pimpinella Anisum and it’s a spice which is used in cooking and for seasoning candies like liquorice. Although it features a liquorice taste, it isn’t associated with the herb liquorice or licorice.

Anise is a flowering plant and is a member of the “Apiaceae” group of plants that are aromatic with hollow stems. The Apiaceae family contains fennel (one more ingredient of Absinthe), carrots, parsnip, cumin, coriander plus caraway. Anise is a herbaceous annual and it grows the natural way in Southwest Asia as well as the Eastern Mediterranean.

Anise and also Medicine

Anise has lots of medicinal uses:-
– As an antiseptic.
– To treat insomnia.
– To manage scorpion stings (when blended with wine)
– To relieve toothache.
– As being an antispasmodic.
– To treat indigestion.
– To manage coughs, colds and bronchitis.
– To help remedy parasites, lice and scabies.
– As being a breath freshener.

It is applied to the production of cough medicines and lozenges and used broadly by aromatherapists.

Anise and Preparing food

Anise is commonly used in lots of sweets and candies – aniseed balls, aniseed wheels and several other candies all over the world. Additionally it is employed in Indian cooking, Middle Eastern food preparation, in cakes and cookies, stews, pickles and with fish.

Anise and Alcoholic drinks

It is a significant ingredient in many alcoholic drinks across the world including:-
– Ouzo coming from Greece.
– Raki coming from Turkey.
– Sambuca from Italy.
– Arak, the Arabic beverage.
– Pastis – the French aperitif.
– Absinthe – with other spices and herbs including wormwood, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, star anise, juniper, dittany, veronica and nutmeg.

Anise is usually meant to make some kinds of root beer in the US and to come up with a Mexican hot cocoa style drink named champurrado.

When Absinthe was restricted in 1915 in France due to the questionable herbal ingredient Wormwood, many companies and distilleries desired to make an Absinthe replacement www.wheretopurchaseabsinthe.com. French company Pernod, who first developed Absinthe, made Pernod Pastis. Pastis had the majority of the ingredients of Absinthe and its aniseed flavor but with no wormwood. Absinthe is now legal in several countries around the world and so is back in production.

In the United States today, thujone, the chemical substance in wormwood, remains strictly controlled so normal Absinthe continues to be illegal. An American distillery is already making an Absinthe with tiny quantities of thujone called Absinthe Verte. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) only will allow quantities of around 10 ppm of thujone so the distillery, St George, are sticking to the rules and also have created an Absinthe that is reduced in thujone.

St George Absinthe Verte is made from brandy and herbs including wormwood, basil (which has an aniseed flavor), anise, fennel, tarragon and mint.

Anise can also be found in Absinthe essences from web-based companies like AbsintheKit.com who manufacture essences for the Absinthe industry as well as for people to mix from home with vodka or Everclear to create their very own Absinthe liquor website. These essences also secure the vital Absinthe ingredient wormwood. No Absinthe is complete minus the flavor of anise and also the bitter flavor of wormwood.