GROWING AREA AND HARVEST TIME

Star anise (Star Aniseed) is the dried, star-shaped fruit of a medium-

sized evergreen tree which is called illicium verum. The origin of this plant is from
East Asian countries, now found in some southern provinces of southwest China
and northeast provinces of Vietnam. In addition, it is also grown in the Philippines
and Jamaica. In Vietnam, star anise is grown a lot in Lang Son, Cao Bang and
Quang Ninh,…with an area of more than 50,000 ha, which makes Vietnam’s
production of star anise rank the second in the world, only after China.
Specifically, Lang Son plants 33,500 ha of star anise, accounting for more than
70% of the star anise area in Vietnam. Besides, according to research, Lang Son
star anise ranks the top quality spice in the world therefore, Lang Son star anise is
paid special attention by domestic and foreign enterprises.
The star anise is harvested before it ripens and then dried in the sun. There are 2
crops of star anise in a year: spring and autumn.

Main crop of star anise (autumn harvest) starts in July and lasts until the middle of
September each year. After picking the fruit, farmers will dry it under a
temperature from 30 to 40 Celsius degree. Its color changes from red brown to
dark brown, forming star-shapes and exposing shiny yellow brown seeds.
Spring harvest starts in March till the end of May. The price of star anise in this
season is usually cheaper, however, its quality is not as good as in the main season.
Star- shaped anises in spring crop has smaller size than autumn crop, even some
flowers does not open the seed inside each point.

HISTORY OF STAR ANISE

Star anise is a 6-8 pronged pod produced by the evergreen shrub, Illicium Verum. It
belongs to the plant family, Schisandraceae. Star anise originated in Vietnam and
Southern China, where it has been used for cooking and as a medicine for over
3,000 years. The spice was enjoyed mostly within the Asian region and it reached
Europe – London to be precise - in 1588, when the british navigator Thomas
Cavendish returned from sailing around the world. He discovered the spice when
he stopped off in the Philippines and brought the spice back to England, incorrectly
placing its origin in the Philippines. Star anise quickly gained popularity and
spread into Russia and Germany via tea routes through the 18th century. The new
spice was much admired, particularly by a certain Morgan, apothecary to Queen
Elizabeth I. He sent samples of the spice to a number of leading European
apothecaries. The highly perfumed stars were soon widely used in jams and
liqueurs. The port of Bordeaux spacialized in the star anise trade: local mercjhants
invented a liqueur called anisette which is still used today as the basis for a number
of popular and refreshing aniseed-flavored aperitifs. Although star anise doesn’t
come from the same Umbellifera family as anise and fenel, it does have a very
similar sweet licorice tatse. Star anise has a little more bite than aniseed. The seeds
are les flavorsome than the fruit. Today, Star Anise is grown in China, Vietnam,
Thailand, and Japan. The star-shaped seedpods may be challenging to find in
traditional grocery stores but are more easily found in spice shops and stores
catering to Asian or Indian cuisine.