Anise

 

Pimpinella anisum

Anise is native to the eastern Mediterranean areas as well as western Asia and North Africa, where it still grows wild as a wayside weed. Because it is so shortlived, it often appears in spring and again in late summer, drawing bees and butterflies to it in droves with its sweet liquorice fragrance.

Remarkably, anise has been cultivated in Egypt for over 4 000 years. Pharaonic texts show that even then it was used as a digestive herb, diuretic
 

and to help ease toothache. The Greeks used it too; Dioscorides wrote in the first century that aniseed ‘warms, dries and dissolves, facilitates breathing, relieves pain, provokes urine and eases thirst’. Modern medical science has proved that these ancient uses of this marvellous herb were indeed correct.

Cultivation

Anise is an attractive, shortlived annual growing up to 50 cm in height with pretty, feathery flowers typical of the Umbelliferae, often mistakenly called lace flowers. It is a rewarding plant to grow as it demands nothing more than good, well-composted soil, full sun and a twice-weekly watering. It thrives on neglect, gives a swift return on its easily and quickly raised seeds, and is a delight to the eye and palate with its fragile beauty, tender buds and leaves, and pungent seeds. When growing anise in the garden I have found that the more one picks, the more flowers are produced.

Medicinal uses

Aniseed (and to some extent the leaves and flowers) helps with all digestive ailments, from colic and bloating to nausea, flatulence, heartburn and tummy rumblings, in all age groups, from infants through to the very elderly. Both the seeds and flowers are antispasmodic. Simply chewing a few seeds or flowers will ease period pain, asthma, bronchitis and coughing (it helps to dry up phlegm and is a known expectorant), and for whooping cough there is nothing better.

Doctors are now looking at anise flowers and seeds to help with irregular heartbeat and to ease anxiety. Stress is ever-increasing in our frenetic fast-paced lives, and anise’s extraordinary antispasmodic effect can be relied on to ease tight chest pains and distressed breathing. Sit quietly, take several deep breaths, and slowly sip a cup of anise health tea. It is also excellent for children writing exams, especially with a sprig of peppermint in the tea to boost concentration and promote clear thinking. When there is a tension headache this tea often gives immediate results, and in the case of a chill, shock or severe agitation this remarkably soothing tea is definitely worth trying. Anise flowers in the diet and a tea made from the seeds helps breast-milk production in nursing mothers, and reduces acidity. All in all, anise really should be used more than it is!
 

Anise health tea

SERVES 1

I find this tea superb after a heavy meal or when I have dined out, or eaten rich or spicy food. It also helps with cramps and coughs and every other ailment mentioned above. I even travel with a little jar of aniseed and some dried flowers to ensure that I have a good night. Omit the honey if you prefer the tea unsweetened.

• 2 teaspoons aniseed
• 1 tablespoon fresh flowers and leaves Honey

Pour a cup of boiling water over the seeds, flowers and leaves and allow the tea to stand for five minutes. Stir well, strain, sweeten with a touch of honey, and sip slowly.

Anise de-stress vinegar

This excellent de-stressing vinegar can be used in two ways: mixed with water, it makes a delicious, soothing beverage at the end of a frantically busy day; used in the bath, it literally calms, untangles and eases you – lie back and enjoy its comforting presence. Be sure to make lots of this precious vinegar while your aniseed plants are in flower!

1 large bottle apple cider vinegar Anise sprigs, flowers and leaves 1 tablespoon aniseeds

Press aniseeds, and as many sprigs, flowers and leaves as possible, into the vinegar. Keep in a warm place out of direct sunlight and shake up daily. After 10 days, strain out the flowers, leaves and seeds and replace with fresh ones. Keep it in a warm place for a further 10 days, shaking daily. Repeat the process if needed. Finally, strain, pour into a clean bottle and label. For easy identification, push in one fresh flowering sprig or a tablespoon of seeds.

To take orally, mix two teaspoons of vinegar in a glass of chilled water and sip slowly, especially on a hot afternoon. For a soothing bath, add a dash to the water and relax.