Recipes India - Aniseed

Aniseed
 
Being one of the oldest spices, the aniseed is the schizocarpic fruit of the annual anise plant of the parsley family (Umbelliferae) and consists of two half-fruits which are separable only with difficulty.

The aniseed is widely used for flavouring curries, bread, soups, baked goods, dried figs, deserts, cream cheese, pickles, egg dishes, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. The spice has essential oils and other ingredients which have a strong seasoning action.

It is ground grey to grayish brown in color. The oil ducts are almost always present embedded in the fruit wall beneath the ridges.

In India, it is grown to a small extent as a culinary herb or as a garden plant. The major products are anis oil and oleoresin anis. Basically, the aniseed is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, stimulant, carminative and expectorant.