How much delicious and incredibly useful Mother Nature gives us! In this article we suggest you to plunge into the world of spices and talk about what anise is, what useful properties its fruits have and where they are used. We will talk about the independent cultivation of this plant at home and about the rules for harvesting anise seeds for the future.
What is anise?
Anis vulgaris is the oldest medicinal plant, which belongs to the umbelliferous family. Anise seeds have been found more than once in buildings dating back to the Stone Age. Anise vulgaris has such names as sweet cumin, vegetable anise and aniseed thigh.
Anise Description
This plant is annual, finely pubescent. Its smooth, rounded, dense stems reach a height of 30 to 70 cm and branch in the upper part. A thin, spindle-like root grows into the ground to a depth of 30 cm.
Leaves located closer to the roots, round, with large teeth, grow on long petioles. The middle leaflets located on the stem are rounded and have palmate incisions. The upper leaves are triple or pentate and have a wedge-shaped shape. The flowers are very small, usually white, but sometimes with a slightly pinkish tinge. Anise fruits are nothing more than an ovoid or pear-shaped ovoid with a weak ribbing. In simple terms, these are anise seeds. Their color is gray-green or gray-brown. Anise fruits are characterized by a strong spicy aroma and a sweetish taste. Anise is also a honey plant. The rich flowering of umbrellas is a favorable environment for bees that produce incredibly fragrant anise honey.
Homeland and distribution of anise
To date, it has not been possible to find reliable information about where the anise was first discovered and began to be cultivated. According to one source - Asia Minor is its homeland, other sources say that anise came to us from Egypt. Currently, anise can be found on almost any continent, in any country, be it Russia, Spain, France, Japan, America, India, the Netherlands, Mexico, Afghanistan or Turkey. In our country, anise is actively and successfully cultivated in the Voronezh and Kursk regions, in the Krasnodar Territory.
The healing properties of anise
The main purpose of anise seeds is medicinal. The beneficial properties of anise seeds were already known to Pythagoras and Hippocrates, who actively used them as a medicine. Due to the high content of essential oils in fruits, the main use of anise is the treatment of cough and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Anise as an antispasmodic very often is part of the stomach and laxatives. It has calming and analgesic effects, so it is often prescribed for intestinal colic and bloating. Due to the carminative property, it quickly removes spasm in the intestine and improves the secretory function of the digestive tract.
A decoction of anise is often prescribed to nursing mothers, as it stimulates milk production and improves uterine contractions, which is very important after childbirth.
The smell of anise essential oil is not tolerated by many insects: lice, cockroaches and ticks. Below we will share with you the most popular and effective recipes for traditional medicine.
- To increase the amount of milk produced during lactation, you need to eat 2 tablespoons of anise seeds 3-4 times a day. You can combine them with honey and drink warm tea.
- With constant bloating and intestinal colic, anise is used in combination with other herbs. Prepare a decoction of equal parts of anise seeds, chamomile flowers, mint leaves and caraway seeds. A day you need to drink at least a glass of such a decoction.
- If there are no other herbs at hand, then you can make anise tea from intestinal colic. To do this, a teaspoon of well-ground anise seeds is poured with a glass of boiling water and allowed to infuse for an hour. You need to drink such tea 3 times a day for 1 tablespoon. At a higher dosage, tea can significantly increase appetite.
- With gastritis and a sharp pain in the stomach, a stronger and more infused anise tea is drunk in a quarter cup, at least 4 times a day.
- With amenorrhea or, conversely, too heavy menstruation, a piece of sugar moistened with 3-4 drops of anise oil, used 3 times a day, helps. Anise oil helps to normalize the menstrual cycle.
- From insomnia, anise seeds infusion in milk with honey helps well. All that is needed is a teaspoon of anise fruit, a glass of milk and a spoonful of honey - and after 15 minutes you will be sleeping with a baby’s sleep.
- Aniseed infusion can help rejuvenate the skin. To do this, you need to not only take it inside, but also wipe his face daily.
- Anise oil in combination with sunflower oil will help get rid of lice. Just rub the oil thoroughly into your head, wrap it with a bag and towel, and start combing after a few hours. Repeat the procedure every three days until the lice disappears completely.
- With pneumonia, it is necessary to use anise and linden infusion. For this, seeds and leaves are mixed in equal proportions and poured with boiling water. After a half-hour infusion, you can drink the broth.
- Prolonged bronchitis can be cured with the following mixture: 100 g of flaxseed, 20 g of anise, 30 g of ginger and 0.5 kg of garlic-honey with lemon must be thoroughly mixed and consumed in a teaspoon several times a day.
If you do not have time to prepare infusions and decoctions, then you can buy ready-made anise drops in a pharmacy. It is about them that we will discuss in the next section.
Anise drops
Anise oil dilutes and removes sputum from the bronchi, relieves inflammation and reduces sore throat. In pharmacy chains, you can find a combined drug - anise drops with ammonia. Ammonia in combination with aniseed oil disinfects, promotes rapid regeneration of mucous membranes and quickly dilutes sputum, thereby accelerating the cough treatment process. A special advantage of these drops is their use at any age. Thanks to their completely natural composition, they can treat coughs even in young children. A rather low cost (about 70 rubles) makes them affordable for all segments of the population.
The use of anise in cooking
Not only anise seeds, but also anise oil are widely used in baking and confectionery production, in the preparation of meat, fish dishes and even drinks. Anise fruits have a refreshing aroma that, as an exquisite spice, will splendidly decorate almost any dish, be it soup or dessert.
Growing anise in your area
Growing anise in your area is not troublesome and quite enjoyable. Anise, oddly enough, loves both cold and warmth. Almost any land except clay clay is suitable for planting it. It will grow especially well in the ground after potatoes and legumes. A month before the frosts, carefully dig up the plot for planting anise to a depth of at least 30 cm. As soon as all the snow has melted in the spring and the soil has dried well, it needs to be dug again, but not so deep - by 5-6 cm. Do not use fruits for sowing over two years of age, as older seeds may simply not sprout. Before planting, you need to let them sprout a little. To do this, just hold the seeds in a wet rag for about a week. Do not forget to moisten the drying rag. As soon as you notice that small shoots have appeared, remove excess moisture by slightly drying them.
Planting of germinated seeds is carried out to a depth of 4 cm and with a row spacing of 30 to 50 cm. For anise to grow powerful and bring a good harvest, be sure to loosen the soil, destroy weeds and fertilize the ground.
Harvesting anise for the winter
Anise is harvested only after its full maturity - in August or September. Ripe anise fruits easily fall off, so the process of collecting seeds will not cause unnecessary difficulties. The collected seeds must be dried in a dry and dark place for at least five days or in the oven at low temperature. It is very simple to determine whether the seeds have dried out enough - they will be reduced in volume by half. Then they must be thoroughly threshed, remove impurities and all the husks. The dried seeds are stored in a tin can in a dry, dark place.
Contraindications to the use of anise fruits
The main contraindication to use is the presence of an allergic reaction to the fruits and essential oils contained in them. Another disease that does not tolerate essential oils is a stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer. With caution, it is worth using anise for women during pregnancy. Do not abuse anise if you have increased blood clotting.