HERB - Anise

[Gaylin]

Serian asked (on the Cook's list for those of you reading
this on the Herbalist list):

>Does anyone know about history of anise and when/if it was
>used in period?

And Ras responded kindly with:

>Anise originated in Egypt from which it spread to the middle east and then
>throughout the Mediterranean basin. It was used as a medicinal and as a
>flavoring agent.

While this is essentially true to my knowledge, also to my
knowledge it may be incomplete. By anise I'm going to assume
we mean Pimpinella anisum and not Illicium verum
which is also known as anise, but usually star anise
and is from China (incidently it's a tree in the Magnolia
family, something I didn't know until just now when I
was doublechecking the latin name). Confusion on the
names should come as no suprise. Even today we have
troubles, but during our researched time P. anisum
was confused with Anethum gaveolens, which finally
came to be called "dill" or "anet"

Interesting side note here about mistranslation and
confusion. In the Bible, we find a reference to "anise"
as a payment for taxes along with mint and cumin
(Mathew 23:23), but many scholars disagree and
believe that the correct translation is "dill" not
"anise". Watch out for references and translations
in period manuscripts, as this is a tripping point.

Ras is right in that Egypt is the source of P. anisum
and Waverly Root  states that this is the only place
in the world where the plant still grows in the wild
(Food, pg. 6) From Egypt, most sources say the plant
spread through Africa until it reached the Mediterranean
where the ancient Greeks and Romans took off with
it and never returned.

P. anisum is mentioned in a very many ancient and
period manuscripts. It has been used in food and perfumery
since its discovery and during our researched time
period it is very easy to find references to its inclusion
in those arts/science we study. In cooking, as several
people have mentioned, it is used in recipes where a
cook might be looking for an anise flavor or perhaps to
balance out the humors by aiding digestion. Many feasts
ended with sugared anise (cf. Platina's "De Honesta
Voluptate") and again according to Waverly Root, "no
Roman wedding banquet was complete without anise
cakes" (Food, ibid.). It has also been used an addition
to many other dishes. Taillevent mentions it and uses
it often in a variety of recipes (someone on the list
should be able to supply you with some; I'm still
waiting for my copy to appear in my collection).

Although I do not like the taste of anise much at all,
my personal enjoyment of P. anisum does not stem from
the cooking interests, but rather from the medicinal
in period. In all honesty, digestion ranks as the top
medicinal use of the plant, but as you approach later
period manuscripts, you'll find you can't swing a dead
cat without hitting another illness it was intended to
cure. Among the symptoms or situations it was said
to cure are epilepsy (cf. Pythagorus); coughs (cf.
Hippocrates); halitosis, old age, and bad dreams (cf.
Pliny); flatulence; low flow of mother's milk; and
nausea. As you go further and later in time, more
cures pop up. Of the cures I listed, flatulence and
indigestion, coughs, and nausea can be substantiated
by modern science. There may be more, but I've not
read the studies on them.

I hope this helps you, Serian. I'm sure there are
plenty of people on the list (and on the herb list
which I've copied) who would be willing to supply
you with more info, either recipes or more specific
botanical information. Let us know what else we can
help with and enjoy your break from school!

Jasmine
iasmin de cordoba

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