Organic Star Anise
Organic Star Anise
- In stock, ready to ship
Star anise (Illicium verum) is a beautiful, star-shaped spice with a warm, sweet, liquorice-like flavour that is essential to Asian cooking and mulled drinks. These certified organic star anise pods (also called anise spice) are visually stunning and intensely aromatic, adding depth and warmth to pho, Chinese braised dishes, biryani, and mulled wine. This star anise spice is a key ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder and is traditionally used as a warming digestive spice.
Key Benefits
- Essential Asian spice: A foundation ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder (with cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan pepper, and fennel). Essential in Vietnamese pho broth, Chinese red-braised meats, and Indian biryani.
- Beautiful whole stars: Each pod is a natural eight-pointed star, making star anise as visually striking as it is flavourful. Perfect for decorating mulled drinks, cocktails, and desserts.
- Warm, sweet liquorice flavour: The flavour comes from anethole, the same compound found in anise seed and fennel, but with a deeper, more complex character unique to star anise.
- Warming digestive spice: Traditionally used in Chinese and Ayurvedic herbal traditions to support digestive comfort and ease bloating after meals.
- Certified organic: Grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers.
Cooking: Add 1 to 2 whole stars to soups, braised meats, curries, or rice while cooking. Remove before serving (or leave in for presentation). Essential in pho broth alongside Cinnamon Sticks and Cloves.
Five-spice powder: Grind star anise with equal parts Cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan pepper, and Fennel Seed for homemade Chinese five-spice powder.
Mulled wine: Add 2 to 3 whole stars to mulled wine or cider alongside cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel. Also beautiful floated in cocktails and hot chocolate.
Despite having a similar flavour, star anise and anise seed are completely unrelated plants from different botanical families. Star anise is from the magnolia family, while anise seed is from the carrot family. They share the flavour compound anethole, which evolved independently in both plants.
Star anise is the primary industrial source of shikimic acid, a precursor used in the manufacture of oseltamivir (Tamiflu). This led to global shortages of star anise during flu outbreaks. Culinary star anise (I. verum) must not be confused with Japanese star anise (I. anisatum), which is toxic.
Safe as a culinary spice at normal cooking quantities. Ensure you are using culinary star anise (Illicium verum), not Japanese star anise (I. anisatum) which is toxic. This information is not a substitute for medical advice.
Our shipping costs are a flat rate, meaning you can add any amount of products to your order and you will pay the same.
Regular Post - $10.95
Express Post - $12.95
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We send Australia wide.
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