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Pimpinella
anisum Linn.
Family: Umbelliferae
Other names: Aniseed; Sweet
Cumin
Description
Anise, Pimpinella anisum L., a herbaceous annual native
to the Mediterranean region and Egypt, is cultivated in
Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, North Africa, India and
Russia chiefly for its fruits, called aniseed, the flavour
of which resembles that of licorice. Anise was well known
to the ancient Egyptians and Romans.
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| Botany |
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| The plant reaches a height
of about 0.75m and requires a warm and long frost-free
growing season of 120 days. It has long-stalked basal
leaves and shorter, stalked stem leaves. Its small and
yellowish white flowers form loose umbels. The fruit is
nearly ovoid in shape, about 3.5 mm long, and has five
longitudinal dorsal ridges. The fruit consists of two
united carpels each containing an anise seed. The seed
is small and curved, about 0.5 cm long and grayish brown.
Its usually contains hair-like protrusions from each end. |
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| Cultivation |
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The reported life zone for anise production
is 8 to 23oC with 400 to 1700 mm of precipitation and
a soil pH of 6.3 to 7.3. Seeds should be planted early
in spring in rows 60 to 90cm feet apart and at the rate
of a dozen to 30 cm. The surface of the soil should
be made smooth and the seeds covered to a depth of 2cm.
The stand should be thinned to three or four plants
to 30 cm. Only light cultivation is needed for weed
control. Anise develops very well in deep, friable soils
and appears to respond favorably to nitrogen fertilization
by yielding a greater quantity of high-quality fruit.
The small white flowers bloom in midsummer, and seed
maturation usually occurs one month after pollination,
when the oil content in the dried fruit is about 2.5%.
The fruiting umbels should be harvested when the seeds
turn brown, which take place late in fall. The fresh
leaves possess a flavour similar to that of the seeds
and may be used as needed during the season. As they
are clipped from the plants the umbels should be thoroughly
dried either in shade or under the sun and the seeds
separated, cleaned and stored for later use.
The essential oil of anise is present
at about1.5 - 3.5% level. The major constituent in oil
of anise is anethole. Methyl chavicol, anisaldehyde
and para-methoyphenylacetone are also present, but in
lesser relative amounts.
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| Aroma and Flavour |
| Fresh leaves may be used in
salads, especially apple; seeds in cookies and candies.
While the entire plant is fragrant, it is the fruit of
anise, commercially called anise seed, that has been highly
valued since antiquity. The delicate fragrance is widely
used for flavouring curries, breads, soups, cakes, candies,
desserts, non-alcoholic beverages, and such liqueurs as
anisette and arak. Aniseed is widely used to flavour pasteries;
it is the characteristic ingredient of a German bread
called Anisbrod. In the Mediterranean region and in Asia,
aniseed id commonly used in meat and vegetable dishes.
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| Culinary use |
| It is used in Italian sausage,
pepperoni, pizza topping and other processes meat items.The
volatile or essential oil, obtained by steam distillation
of the crushed anise seed, is valuable in perfumery and
soaps and has been used in toothpastes, mouthwashes and
skin creams. The essential oil is used to flavour absinthe,
and Penod liqueurs. Anise oil is sometimes uses as an
adulterant in the essential oil of licorice. The oil is
sometimes uses as sensitizer for bleaching colors in photography.
The seeds are chewed after a meal in India to sweeten
the breath. |
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| Medicinal and other
use |
| It makes a soothing herbal
tea and has been used medicinally from prehistoric items.
As a medicinal plant, anise has been used as a carminative,
antiseptic, antispasmodic, expectorant, stimulant, and
stomachic. In addition, it has been used to promote lactation
in nursing mothers and as a medicine against bronchitis
and indigestion. Oil of anise is used today as and ingredient
in cough medicine and lozenges and is reported to have
diuretic and diaphoretic properties. If ingested in sufficient
quantities, anise oil may induce nausea, vomiting , seizures
and pulmonary edema. Contact of the concentrated oil with
the skin can cause irritation. |
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