WHATDOANISE,STARANISE,ANDFENNELHAVEINCOMMON?

Anethole is the chemical constituent in the essential oil of the

fruits of anise, star anise, and fennel. Essential oils are
responsiblefortheflavorandaromaofspices.Whenextractedfrom
the appropriate plant part, they are used as substitutes for the
originalplanttoflavorfoodandscentawidevarietyofproducts.
Theoilofqualityaniseseedis80percentto90percentanethole,
thatoffennelis50percentto60percentanethole,andstaranise
oilis85percentto90percentanethole.Allthreeoilscontaina
number of other constituents which account for the difference in
flavoramongthethree,butthelargeamountofanetholegivesthema
greatdegreeofsimilaryinflavor.
Initsnaturalstate,anetholeisawhitecrystallinesubstancewith
anintenselysweetaniselikeodorandflavor.Anethole"melts"toa
liquidstateatrelativelylowtemperatures,around20to22degrees
Celsius (68 to 72 F). This liquid anethole, when exposed for long
periods to light, heat, or air, slowly loses its ability to
crystallizeandundergoesundesirableflavorchanges.
Whenstoredbelow15degreesCelsius(59F),qualityaniseandstar
anisedevelopaglitterlikeappearance.Thiseffectiscausedbythe
anetholecrystallizingontheoutside ofthefruits.Thisdoesnot
occurinfennelbecauseofitsloweranetholecontent.Asthefruits
warm, the anethole "melts" and the glitter effect disappears.
Repeatedwarmingandcoolingdecreasestheanetholecontentandthus
lowersthequality.
To help maintain the quality of spices, proper storage is always
important. Cool, dry, storage conditions with minimum exposure to
lightandairarethestandardrequirementsforeveryspice.Anise,
fennel, and star anise benefic from proper storage by maintaining
theiranetholecontentandthustheirdistinctiveflavorandaroma.