Description:
Organic Star Anise Fruit1.pesticide -free
2.season's products
3.competitive price
Description
Star anise isthe unusual fruit of a small oriental tree. It is, as the namesuggests, star shaped, radiating between five and ten pointedboat-shaped sections, about eight on average. These hard sectionsare seed pods. Tough skinned and rust coloured, they measure up to3cm long. The fruit is picked before it can ripen, and dried. Thestars are available whole, or ground to a red-brown powder.
Flavour:Evocative of a bitteraniseed, of which flavour star anise is a harsher version.Nervertheless, the use of star anise ensures an authentic touch inthe preparation of certain Chinesedishes.
Preparationand Storage
Thewhole stars can be added directly to the cooking pot; pieces arevariously referred to as segments, points and sections. Otherwise,grind the whole stars as required. Small amounts are used, as thespice is powerful. Stored whole in airtight containers,it keeps for wellover a year.
CulinaryUses
Staranise is used in the East as aniseed is in the West. Apart from itsuse in sweetmeats and confectionery, where sweeteners must beadded, it contributes to meat and poultry dishes, combiningespecially well with pork and duck. In Chinese red cooking, wherethe ingredients are simmered for a lengthy period in dark soysauce, star anise is nearly always added to beef and chickendishes. Chinese stocks and soups very often contain the spice.. Itflavours marbled eggs, a decorative Chinese hors d’oeuvre or snack.Mandarins with jaded palates chew the whole dried fruit habituallyas a post-prandial digestant and breath sweetener - an orientalcomfit. In the West, star anise is added in fruit compotes andjams, and in the manufacture of anise-flavoured liqueurs, the bestknown being anisette. It is an ingredient of the mixture known as“Chinese Five Spices”.
