Anise is one of the strongly aromatic and warm medical plants. This spice is related botanically to caraway, cumin, dill and fennel.

These oval seeds are one of the oldest known spices. It has been planted in Syria since a long time ago. It is usually planted in many Syrian regions during January/ February and it is harvested in May/June.

Anise is native to the Middle East especially Syria. Furthermore it is exported from Syria to many countries all over the world to obtain the anise oil.

Anise is very well known as a digestive.

Main constituents

The aroma of the essential oil (up to 3% in the fruits) is dominated by trans-anethol (max. 90%). Additional aroma components are estragol (iso-anethol, 2%), anis aldehyd (less than 1%), anis alcohol, p-methoxy-acetophenone, pinene, limonene, and gamma-himachalene (2%). An unusual compound is the phenol ester 4- methoxy-2- (1-propene-yl)-phenol-2-methyl-butyrate, which is characteristic for anis (5%).

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It’s Usage all Over the World

Anise seeds were taken as a digestive in the old ages, in the form of comfits (seeds coated with sugar).

Today, these seeds are chewed to aid digestion and to sweeten the breath.

In Western cuisine, anise is mostly restricted to bread and cakes. Occasionally, breadfruit products are aromatized with anise. And in small dosages, it is sometimes contained in spice mixtures for sausages and stews.