Traditionally the Japanese used to burn the beautifully aromatic mark of the tree as incense. Star anise is the fruit of a small to medium, evergreen tree, native to south west China and now grown in Indio- china and Japan. Yellow, narcissus like flowers yield fruits which open out into an eight- pointed star shape. The tree bears fruit after 6 years initially, but then it has a productive life of up to a hundred years. The fruits are harvested before they ripen. When ripe they are rust red and each point of the star shaped husk contains an amber coloured seed. Both the seed and the husk are used for the ground spice. Star anise has about 8% of volatile oil. The main constituent is anethole. The spice and oil have a sweet flavour. Though star anise could not be more different from anise in appearance, both spices smell and taste very similar with distinct liquorice like aroma and flavour.
