Best Star Anise to Enhance the Flavour of your Food
Star anise is a potent, flavouring spice used in Asian and South-East Asian cuisines. Its sweet, licorice flavour provides a unique taste to stews, broths, and savouries.
Originally hailing from China, this traditional spicing agent is used both in whole and ground form in several recipes. The distinct flavour makes it a popular spice item in different types of cuisines.
Packeted star anise products are easily available in the market. This short guide will help you choose the best star anise to add flavour to your foods.
Best 5 Star Anise To flavour Your Foods
Buyer’s Guide
Buying packeted star anise is always better than going for loose ones in the market. But are all the packeted products authentic? You need to understand which factors to check before buying a packet of star anise of popular brands. Always look into the following factors while purchasing the products-
Brand
Quality is the first reason you should choose branded and packaged star anise rather than buy them loose from the market. Therefore, it is recommended that you choose only the best brands when you choose a unique spice like star anise.
Selecting well-known brands always reduces the risk of being cheated with low-quality products. Reputed brands always go through several quality checks and maintain hygiene. You can trust them always and receive the best spices.
Broken or Unbroken
When you are going for packeted star anise, check whether they are visible through the transparent exterior packet. If you can see them, please check if the pods are broken or in unbroken form. Premium quality star anise should be present whole in unbroken form.
Do not buy the product if you find the pods broken or shrivelled up and crumbling. It’s best not to purchase them because they are of inferior quality and won’t provide the desired flavours.
Organic Products
While choosing brands for food products or natural spices, it is best to go for organic ones. Check whether the brand you select sells organic products. Organically grown spices have the best flavours and will be the safest bid when choosing a brand. They are procured from the best spice-growing regions in the country.
Relish a hearty recipe every time you spice it up with sweet and peppery star anise. Buy them in the best form from the market and enjoy your traditional recipes with the right tastes and flavours.
Best 5 Star Anise To flavour Your Foods
1. Urban Platter Asian Star Anise –
Urban Platter brings you the best of Asian star anise in well-packaged form. These spices are of premium quality and highly aromatic because the natural flavours and oils are kept intact.
They are specially imported from Vietnam to let you have organically grown star anise spices from the world’s best growing regions. Use it to stir up lip-smacking flavours and mouth-watering tastes while cooking Indian or Chinese dishes.
You can also add it to flavour teas and soups and see the magic. The unmistakable fragrance gives a classic masterstroke to your cooking.
2. Amazon Brand – Vedaka Star Anise Spice –
Vedaka star anise spice is a premium quality spice for adding the authentic taste and flavour to various Indian dishes like curries, biryani, pulao, etc. It also adds a refreshing taste to your masala tea. It comes in a 100gms pack of star anise spice.
It is a fresh and aromatic spice that helps you to prepare delicious meals. It comes packed with an enticing aroma and rich, spicy taste for boosting the flavour of dishes in their final stages of preparation.
It is packed hygienically in a HACCP-certified unit and maintains consistent quality throughout the year.
3. Marwar Star Anise Whole –
Buy whole, good quality star anise from Marwar brand of spices to have authentic and organic ones to delicately season your food. They are well packed in food-grade zip lock bags for better storage and to lock in the flavours and aroma.
Prepare your biriyani, pulav or kebabs using this intensely aromatic spice in whole or powdered form. Star anise is originally a Chinese spice, variedly used in Vietnamese cuisines as well.
But, it is also popular in Indian cuisines like Mughal dishes, Indo-Chinese food and sea food. The intense aroma and flavour of the star anise make it a premium ingredient in several recipes.
4. Tradifeast Star Anise Chakri Phool –
TradiFeast brings you a naturally fragrant, great quality star anise in unbroken form. Use them whole in your dishes and marinades or ground them in powder form to create rich whole-spice powder at home for various cuisines.
Star anise is not only a rich flavouring agent in foods but also known for its medicinal benefits. It is good for digestion and has anti-fungal benefits. Rich in flavonoids, it is an amazing ingredient to add to your dishes and add taste to meat and vegetables.
You can also use it in ground form to marinate meat dishes for a sweet, earthy and distinct taste. It has a unique characteristic that is hard to miss. You can also use it to flavour your broths, soups, tea, and savouries.
5. Looms & Weaves – Star Anise –
Popularly used in Indian cuisines, especially Mughal dishes, the star-anise or ‘chakri phool’ is an excellent flavouring agent. It has been traditionally used in dishes like biriyani, pulav, meat recipes, and kebabs.
Looms & Weaves brings you organically procured and well-packed star anise without any added preservatives. It is almost a must-have spice for such authentic, traditional recipes and one of the five ingredients in the garam-masala or all-spice powder.
There are no added artificial colours or flavours, which preserve their 100% natural quality. The sweet, licorice-like taste gives a unique, flavorful blend to your ingredients. Relish its amazing taste and aroma when you add such finest quality, fragrant spices in the traditional Indian dishes.
