- Latin name
- Pimpinella anisum
- Family
- Carrot family (Apiaceae)
- Origin
- Egypt, Spain, Turkey
- Parts used
- seeds (fruits)
- Raw materials
- essential oil
- Extraction
- steam distillation of the seeds
- Olfactory group
- spicy (sweet)
- Position in the pyramid
- top and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- anethole
Anise is an annual plant of the carrot family, and its small grey-green seeds are one of the oldest spices of the Mediterranean. Do not confuse it with star anise: that is a completely different plant, although they smell alike.
How it smells: sweet-spicy, fresh and liquorice-like: aniseed sweets, liquorice, a faintly herbal and fennel shade. Anise sounds bright and recognisable, adding a nostalgic sweetness to a fragrance.
The main odour substance of anise is anethole; there is also a lot of it in star anise and fennel. Anethole dissolves poorly in water, which is why anise drinks — ouzo, pastis, raki — turn cloudy and milky-white when diluted with water.
What it pairs with: with violet and iris — powdery-liquorice compositions, with lavender — spicy fougères, with vanilla and tonka — sweet gourmands, with wormwood — an “absinthe” accord, with leather — an unusual spiced leather.
Good to know: in ancient Rome aniseed cakes were served at the end of a feast — anise was believed to aid digestion after a heavy meal.
