- Latin name
- Illicium verum
- Family
- Schisandra family (Schisandraceae)
- Origin
- China, Vietnam
- Parts used
- star-shaped fruits
- Raw materials
- essential oil
- Extraction
- steam distillation of the fruits
- Olfactory group
- spicy (anise)
- Position in the pyramid
- top note and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- anethole, anise oil
Star anise is the fruit of an evergreen tree from southern China and Vietnam, shaped like small eight-pointed stars. Despite its name, it is not related to common anise, although it smells very similar.
How it smells: sweet, spicy and warm: a bright anise shade, liquorice, a faintly woody and resinous note. Star anise sounds denser and darker than anise, with a warm oriental spice.
The resemblance between star anise and anise comes down to one molecule — anethole, abundant in both. Anethole gives the liquorice sweetness we recognise in absinthe, sambuca and gingerbread.
What it pairs with: with cinnamon and clove — spicy winter compositions, with liquorice and violet — anise-powdery fragrances, with vanilla — a warm sweet accord, with incense — resinous spice, with citrus — a fresh spicy opening.
Good to know: star anise is one of the five spices of the classic Chinese five-spice blend, and for a long time it was also the source of a substance used to make an influenza drug.
