THE HERB COLLECTION

Star Anise

Ba Jiao • Eight-Pointed Woody Spice Pod of Pho & Braises.

Explore the common forms, learn a little about the plant, and choose what suits your cupboard.

Whole dried star anise for cooking and spice jars.

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A little about star anise.

The plant

Rich, sweet-licorice, warm-spicy, and rounder/fruiter than green aniseed, with subtle cinnamon-clove undertones. Native to Southern China & Northern Vietnam (Schisandraceae).

The forms

Used as a cooking spice, simmered in savory broths and braises. We do not recommend star anise tea.

Before you choose

Check the label for the Latin name (Illicium verum), and choose the form that suits your cupboard.

Traditional uses & research +

Botanical taxonomy: Illicium verum (Schisandraceae) · Tradition: Digestive & Carminative · Key constituents: Trans-anethole, Shikimic acid, Linalool, Limonene.

Curated collections: Digestive Bitters & Warming Spices · Seasonal Harvest & Winter Apothecary · Seasonal almanac: February Almanac (Late-Winter Berries & Warming Spices) · December Almanac (Solstice Resins, Bark Quills & Evergreen).

Traditional background: Known in Mandarin as Ba Jiao ('Eight Horns'), each woody carpel of the star pod splits open along one side to reveal a polished amber seed.

Everyday & kitchen uses: Simmered whole in Vietnamese pho broths and savory braises.

Standard preparation methods (compare all 50 steeping temperatures):

Savory Pho / Master Braising Broth (3 whole star anise pods + 1 cinnamon stick + 3 cloves charred briefly in dry pan at Dry toast 60 sec, then simmer in broth): Toasting awakens trans-anethole

Cautions & interactions +

General information, not medical advice. Check with a doctor or pharmacist before using this herb if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, giving it to a child, taking medication or managing a health condition.

Who should use caution: We do not recommend star anise tea, and it should never be given to infants. In 2003 FDA warned against teas brewed from any star anise after about 40 illnesses, including about 15 infants, ranging from vomiting to seizures. Toxic Japanese star anise can contaminate the spice and looks very similar. True star anise has also been tied to neurological symptoms at high doses or after long boiling, so keep amounts small. It contains estragole, a genotoxic carcinogen that EU regulators say to minimize in young children and in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Safety in those groups is not well studied.

Species & lookalike verification: CRITICAL TOXIC LOOKALIKE WARNING: Always buy culinary Chinese/Vietnamese Star Anise (Illicium verum), the food spice. NEVER confuse it with wild Japanese Star Anise (Illicium anisatum, known in Japan as Shikimi, burned only as temple incense)—Illicium anisatum pods look nearly identical but contain potent neurotoxins such as anisatin that can cause seizures if steeped! Japanese star anise pods tend to be slightly smaller and more irregular, but looks and smell are not a reliable home test, and telling them apart can take lab methods. Only buy food-grade Illicium verum from reputable spice purveyors, and know that this lowers the risk without removing it.

Cupboard storage (amber glass guide): Whole woody star pods retain their sweet licorice aroma for 2–3 years in a sealed jar.

Sources & further reading +

Are Star Anise and regular Aniseed from the same plant?
Not at all! Regular green Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) is a small annual herb in the carrot/parsley family (Apiaceae) native to the Mediterranean. Star Anise (Illicium verum) is the woody, star-shaped fruit pod of an evergreen magnolia-relative tree native to southern China and Vietnam. Remarkably, both plants independently evolved the exact same primary flavor molecule: trans-anethole!

How do you ensure your Star Anise is pure culinary Illicium verum and not toxic Japanese Star Anise?
You cannot confirm this at home. Buy food-grade spice from suppliers who can show identity testing, such as microscopy or gas chromatography. Smell and shape alone are not reliable, so never use a pod you cannot trace, and never give star anise tea to infants.

Is the spice inside the woody star points or the glossy seeds inside?
Wait—it's actually the opposite of Cardamom! In Cardamom, the oil is in the seeds; in Star Anise, over 80% of the fragrant trans-anethole essential oil is concentrated inside the thick, rust-brown woody star walls (pericarp) rather than the smooth inner seeds!

What famous pharmaceutical compound is extracted from Star Anise?
Star Anise pods are the world's richest natural botanical source of shikimic acid (comprising 3% to 7% of the dry pod weight), which serves as the starting chemical building block for synthesizing the antiviral medication oseltamivir.

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