Anise – Pimpinella anisum
Description of anise:
Pimpinella anisum Old or other familiar names: Viennese cumin, fennel, fragrant anise, common anise, anise seed Apiaceae – celery family Do not confuse anise (pimpinella anisum) with star anise (Illicium verum) Aniseed is an annual herb native to Egypt and Syria, whose fruit is used as a spice and for liquor, and is also known in medicine as anisi fructus and anisum vulgare. It is used to produce anise oil(anisi aetheroleum).
It is an annual herbaceous plant, 30-70 cm tall. Stem slightly hairy, cylindrical, with longitudinal furrows. It has heterophyllous leaves (different leaf shapes), scattered. It has compound white umbels (July). The aniseed fruits are dark brown, twin, inverted-round, up to 5 mm long and 3 mm wide, and are recognisable by their characteristic flavour, which can be smelled by rubbing them lightly between the fingers. Less prone to pitting. The taste is sweet and slightly pungent when chewed. Aniseed prefers warmer skies, which is why it is most successful in wine-growing areas. The aniseed ripens unevenly, so before harvesting, the previously harvested aniseed must be cut to prevent it from sprouting. Harvesting is then delayed until the later ripening crops have ripened. Anise ripens in August. The aniseed is harvested, tied in bundles and dried in the sun, in the attic or in a barn, then threshed and cleaned. Aniseed must be protected from rain, as it is easily blackened and loses its value.
Occurrence:
Originally from the Mediterranean, it is widely cultivated, especially in Russia, Spain, Greece and Germany.
Drugs:
– Anisi fructus and Anisi aetheroleum: aniseed cascade and the essential oil obtained from it Ph.Hg.VIII Hungarian Pharmacopoeia, min. 20 ml/kg essential oil in the fruit – Anisi fructus: yellowish green or greenish grey in colour 3-5 mm long and max 3 mm wide. The confluent sides of the subfruits are flat, while the dorsal sides are convex (covered with wart hairs, clearly visible under magnifying glass). – Anisi aetheroleum: distilled for 2 hours – liquid: water, drug is ground to a coarse powder
Medicinal properties of anise:
- appetite stimulant
- digestive
- expectorant
- blood purifier
- antifungal (fungicide)
- wind repellent
- diuretic
- stomach, intestinal, biliary disorders
- anti-inflammatory
- decongestant
- nervine
- laxative
- vermifuge (for animals)
- removal of lice (externally – ointment, borage solution)
No clinical test results. Current use is still based on literature and tradition EU anxiolytic and expectorant effects accepted.
Part to be collected:
The seeds are collected (anisi fructus).
Active ingredient:
– 1.5-6% essential oil: anethole, trans-anethole the main component – phenolic cinnamic acid derivative – flavonoids (diuretic and anti-inflammatory) – phenolic acids – sugar (minimum amount) – choline – protein Some sites incorrectly cite B, C and other vitamins, minerals (iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium), because the amount of these is minimal, if it is found at all, because these substances are not the most predominant. Most active ingredients: essential oil, flavonoids, phenolic acids, protein and choline!
Use in the kitchen:
Whole or even crushed, but in the latter case it quickly loses its characteristic aroma. It is best known and most widely used as a spice. Most widely used as a spice, it is an excellent choice for the following dishes:
- sauces, casseroles
- wild foods, meats and stuffings
- compote
- rice
- sweet potatoes
- pasta and pastries (bread, savoury pastries)
- syrups
- sweets
- stews (cabbage, pumpkin, beetroot)
- wines, liqueurs, punch (e.g. Ouzo, Raki, Pernod, Jägermeister, Sambuca, Champurrado, Pastis aperitif)
- steamed vegetables
- soups, cream soups
Uses:
– Spice – in liqueurs – source dose: 1-3.5 g of the drug with 150 ml of water 3 times daily not recommended for: < 12 years of age and during pregnancy and lactation – essential oil dose: 50-200 microlitres 3× daily contraindicated: < 18 years of age (estragole content-> carcinogenic) Not recommended in the absence of data during pregnancy and breastfeeding! Overdose: 1-5 mL (risk of nausea, vomiting, stroke, pulmonary oedema) Interaction: may affect absorption of CNS drugs
Aniseed cultivation:
Sheltered from the wind, sunny, warmth-requiring, prefers black (chernozem) and brown forest soils, grows best, – best grown after catch crops. The area where you want to grow it should be fertilised the previous year. In a field that has been deeply ploughed in the autumn and dust-tilled in early spring, sow the seed in March at the latest at a row spacing of 30-40 cm. It requires at least two hoeing cycles and care must be taken to keep it clear of weeds. The seed requirement is about 8 kg per acre. Yield is 4-5 q dry crop per acre.
Varieties:
Budakalászi (1978)
Fertilization:
- Preparation of the soil in autumn: N: 40-60 kg/ha, P2O5: 60-90 kg/ha, K2O: 40-60 kg/ha, at stalk emergence: N: 20 kg/ha (yield enhancing effect)
Propagation:
- Sowing in situ – end of March, beginning of April at a depth of 2-3 cm, with a row spacing of 25-30 cm Seed requirement: 15-20 kg/ha
Plant protection:
- Bacteriosis: combined occurrence of several pathogens before emergence – symptoms of copper oxychloride spraying: yellowish-brownish-black spots on leaves, caraway moth (Depressaria daucella), owl’s nest (Euxoa nigricans)
Care:
- Chemical weed control – prevent the appearance of FOLTOS BURRES on the field (if the presence of burrs is detected in the drug, up to several tonnes are destroyed – a muscle paralysing poison, used to be used for executions)
Harvesting:
- Usually harvested in a single pass with a combine harvester <- less prone to scorching
Yield:
- 400-600 kg/ha
Collection and drying:
Seeds should be collected immediately when fully ripe, as they are easily sprouted. The harvested plant is dried in bundles and then spun out. When harvesting, because the seeds ripen unevenly, the umbels of the central flowers are cut off when they ripen and dried separately so that the mature seeds do not sprout. Particular care should be taken not to expose the aniseed to moisture during harvesting or processing, as it is easily blackened and loses much of its value. Drying at a maximum of 40 degrees! (As with plants containing essential oils!)
Processing and marketing of aniseed:
Anise seeds are marketed in their original form and powdered for medicinal purposes. In its whole state, it is mainly used as an ingredient in tea blends. Its essential oil is a sought-after article in both the medicinal and liqueur industries. Occurrence Active ingredient Collection Cultivation Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic herbs, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses Béla Páter, Wild medicinal plants, their production, use, distribution, and marketing Dr Michael A. Weiner, Herbal Bible, ISBN: 963 7495 29 Rápóti Jenő-Romváry Vilmos, Medicinal plants, ISBN:963 241 190 0 Reader’s Digest, Nature’s herb garden, ISBN:978 963 9562 01 1 Reader’s Digest, Nature’s herb garden, ISBN:978 963 9562 01 1 Kim Hurst, Nature’s Treasures, Herbs, ISBN:978 963 248 253 8 Caroline Holmes, Garden Herbs, ISBN:978 963 09 8272 6 Bertalan Galambosi, 88 colour pages on herbs and medicinal plants, ISBN:963 231 455 7 Reader’s Digest, Nature’s herb garden, ISBN:978 963 9562 01 1 Dr.Ede Kolos-Kolosné Pethes Edit, Our domestic medicinal plants Jenő Bernáth, Medicinal and aromatic plants, ISBN:963 286 258 9 Earl Mindell, The bible of medicinal herbs, ISBN:963 7495 77 0 Dr. István Isépy, Medicinal plants, ISBN:963 11 6369 5 Dr. János Zelenyák, The effects and use of medicinal plants Lesley Bremnes, Spices and Herbs, ISBN:963 545 041 9 Ingrid and Peter Schönfelder, Herb Guide, ISBN:963 684 124 1 Bernáth Jenő-Németh Éva, Collection, cultivation and use of medicinal and aromatic plants ISBN:978 963 286 493 8 Ladocsi Teréz, Herb Guide, ISBN:963 234 454 5 Aladár Béla Varró, Production, collection and use of Hungarian spice plants, ISBN:963 9125 45 8 Járainé-Regéczy, Spice plants, ISBN:963 11 2125 9 Vilmos Romváry, The book of spices, ISBN:963 9268 63 1 Lajos Inczefi, Spices and spice making, ISBN:963 231 974 5 Herbarium – Dr.Sándor Kmeth, ISBN:-978-615-80075-2-34 Medicinal plants – Jethro Kloss, ISBN:978-963-689-351-109 Alexandra, Handbook of herbs, ISBN:978 963 297 946 5 Alexandra, Handbook of Spices, ISBN:978 963 297 917 5 János Boruzs, Useful advice on domestic herbs, ISBN:963 9246 18 8 Michael Castleman, Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants, ISBN: 963 583 051 8 Reader’s Digest, The Big Book of Spices and Herbs, ISBN:978 963 289 055 7 Molnárné Juhász Ágnes, The Book of Herbal Teas, ISBN:978-963-278-477-66 Carol Landa Christensen,Cultivation and use of medicinal plants for cooking and decoration, ISBN:963-7457-59-4 Németh Imréné Éva,ABC of medicinal plants, ISBN:978-615-5171-38-5 Varró Aladár Béla,Medicinal properties of medicinal plants, ISBN:963-9117-02-9
