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Herbs & spices

Star anise

Illicium verumAlso called staranise and badiam

Star anise is a fruit used as a spice. Cooks use it in baking and infusions, and to season meat.

  • Plant-based
  • Gluten-free
  • No listed allergens

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Part used
Fruit
Family
Schisandraceae
Cooked most in
Asia
Top country
Indonesia
Star anise, whole

Photo: Sanjay Acharya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use star anise

Typical ways to cook or use it

  • Bake
  • Infuse
  • Season

Goes well with

  • meat

Around the world

Where star anise is cooked

10 dishes in the catalogue use star anise. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list star anise among their ingredients.

Origins

Native to
China, Vietnam

On the table

Dishes made with star anise

10 dishes in the catalogue use it.

  • Matang satay

    Indonesia

  • Kuah beulangong

    Indonesia

  • Kanji rumbi

    Indonesia

  • Bir pletok

    Indonesia

  • Beef gulai

    Indonesia

  • Nasi kebuli

    Indonesia

  • Rendang

    Indonesia

  • Pacri Nanas

    Indonesia

  • Babi kecap

    Indonesia

  • Gulai Balak

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include star anise.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: star anise in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.
Allergens
None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: soy, eggs, fish, milk, lupin, wheat, celery, sesame, mustard, peanuts, molluscs, sulphites, tree nuts, crustaceans, gluten cereals.
Animal origin
No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Gluten
None
Alcohol
None
Caffeine
None
Pork
None

Cooked together

Ingredients that go into the same catalogued dishes.
Photo credits for this page (12)

Around the world

What star anise is called

Names in 23 languages, from Wikidata.

  • French

    anis étoilé · badiane chinoise

  • Italian

    anice stellato

  • German

    Sternanis · Stern-Anis

  • Dutch

    steranijs

  • Russian

    анис звёздчатый

  • Polish

    anyż gwiaździsty

  • Arabic

    يانسون نجمي

  • Chinese

    八角 · 大料

  • Japanese

    八角 · スターアニス

  • Indonesian

    bunga lawang · kembang lawang · pekak

  • Basque

    Txinatar anis · Izar-anis · Illicium verum

  • Catalan

    anís estrellat

Show all 23 languages

  • Czech

    badyán

  • Danish

    Stjerneanis

  • Esperanto

    stelanizo

  • Estonian

    Tähtaniis

  • Finnish

    Rusotähtianis

  • Galician

    anís estrelado

  • Latvian

    zvaigžņu anīss

  • Simplified Chinese

    八角 · 大料

  • Slovak

    Badián (korenie)

  • Slovenian

    zvezdasti janež · zvezdni janež · kitajski janež

  • Swedish

    stjärnanis

  • Ukrainian

    зірочки анісу · бадьян · бодян

Sources and credits

Data

  • GlobeCooks editorial: descriptions, kitchen notes and classification, written by GlobeCooks from checked sources
  • Wikidata: names, classification and dishes (CC0 1.0)
  • Wikimedia Commons: photos
  • Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Wikidata item: Q1760637

Photos

Photo: Sanjay Acharya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons