Sweet, warm Anise Seed are small, pleasantly striped, greyish-brown seeds, often seen with a completely edible stem attached. A member of the parsley family, Anise Seed is famously known to taste and smell like licorice, but it is a more complex spice than that. Once you move past the licorice, Anise Seed also boasts spicy pepper bursts and a lemony top note; these flavors fade into a gently bitter finish that sends you back for more. Our Anise Seed has a minimum of 1.5% essential oil by weight, which underscores the powerful licorice flavor.

Anise Seed is delicious, but it’s also been popularly used in a variety of ways as folk medicine. Centuries ago, Anise Seed was ground and mixed in with whale oil to make a salve for injuries and irritations of the skin. It is mentioned in an Egyptian medical scroll that dates back to 1550 BCE as a means to help manage digestive and dental health. The gastro-intestinal uses of Anise Seed seem to be cross-cultural to at least one other, far-distant society; In India, Anise Seed was chewed after meals to aid with digestion and to help freshen up the breath. This practice survives today, as evidenced by the plate of anise seeds that can be found near the exit of almost any modern Indian restaurant the world over.

Tips From Our Kitchen

In the United States, we are most familiar with Anise Seed as a spice for dessert. It can be found in all manner of baked goods, from delicate pizzelles to crunchy biscotti to sturdy carrot cakes. But it is also a welcome ingredient in a vast array of savory uses. It is a backbone of Indian cooking so use it for fish or vegetable curries, and it is indispensable in chutneys. Anise Seed is a standard spice in Italian sweet sausage, and it also works wonderfully as a seasoning for veal chops. Toss with pork and mangoes and serve over noodles for a fresh, aromatic and fruity dinner. It’s also brilliant with roasted celery root. We also offer Ground Anise Seed for sale.

Our Anise Seed is sourced from Egypt, Spain, or Turkey.

This product is certified kosher.

Hungry for more information?

Holiday Spice Guide
Indian Spices and Seasonings
Sausage Spices and Seasonings
Nutritional Geography: Anise