← I love star anise; one of nature's most incredible creations. How could something so detailed and precise and alluring be just another part of the botanical picture? And cinnamon sticks. And mace enfolding nutmegs. I could curl up with my all-about-spices books, all big and with pictures, for an afternoon; between bouts of baking, and fueled by cocoa and chai in alternating doses of course. Not this weekend, however.... I keep it in a jar, and use it only in traditional ways ----Chinese style stews (red-cooking) with soy sauce, sugar, and fatty pork, with hard boiled eggs slipped in at the end. I looked it up after reading your message,and learned something new, which makes perfect sense, and gives us a Southern connection, or rather an association. It is related to magnolias. I can see it now with the seed pods, though I need a revisit to a magnolia tree to remind me of itgs details, pretty easy here in NC. And of course, no relationship to actual anise, that just referring to the licorice-ish flavor. I'm not very adventurous with food things. My favorite is to pursue the old ways and traditional approaches. It has great possibilities in sweets and baking --- it's central to 5-spice powder of course, which is a sweet combination to my western tongue. Just read in another book that it's called "eight corners" in some Chinese dialects. I like the "star" idea myself...
