Star anise
Illicium verum · Spice
Top 10 pairings
Dried star-shaped fruit from an evergreen tree of southern China and northern Vietnam, used as a spice. Hard and rust-brown, it smells of sweet, warm liquorice, bolder and woodier than aniseed, and anchors five-spice and phở.
Picking a good onedrag
Just snapped, loud and oilyFaded, dusty, smells of nothing
Sound whole starsEveryday bestKeeps a year. A toxic look-alike can't be spotted: buy from a named source, and don't brew it for babies.
Snap one and smellLiquorice, but only up close
Whole stars or groundWhole, a few points snapped off
Snap a pointSnaps with effort, break dry
Look at the starsDuller, a point or two broken