Does the anion have to have eight corners?And is there only eight corners?Is one more or one less okay?
I'm afraid no one will be able to answer this question. In my hometown of Guangxi, a major spice province in China, where star anise is most commonly grown, people can't give me an accurate answer.
Because the anise is not necessarily, not absolutely, there must be eight corners.
However, people still call it octagonal, and it is still authentic with eight corners, which is considered to be in good condition, and it is more valuable when others come to buy it.
The main reason why I am more serious about this thing is that it is uncertain, which is easy to misunderstand.
The people of Liangguang usually stew mutton and dog meat and make braised pork, and they must enlarge the ingredients, including star anise, cinnamon, grass, fruit fragrant leaves, etc., to enhance freshness, fragrance, and remove the smell.
Star anise is the main general in the big material, also known as anise, the shape is regular and corresponding, there are horns, the fragrance is rich and the taste is unique. Sometimes, even if several other spices are missing, only star anise, it is enough to hold up the scene.
However, it is this main ingredient that is the easiest to mix, because there is a plant called "Mangcao", whose fruit looks very similar to star anise in appearance, and is slightly poisonous, and it will be bad for the heart if eaten by mistake.
Without careful discernment, it is difficult for people to spot the difference between them.
I have a lot of taste, so naturally I always have these ingredients in my kitchen for emergencies.
But when I got a small bag back from my hometown the year before last and used it, I found that the star anise was not the one I was familiar with.
Of course, I know that star anise and manga tend to mix, but smell still distinguishes the two, so much so that I have to smell it every time I use it, and I'm always worried that I'm mistaken.
This is a native anise tree, not grafted, and the fruit is obviously not much)
My hometown is at the foot of the Darong Mountains in Guangxi, and the surrounding villages, including my family's mountains, are full of cinnamon and star anise trees.
Two years ago, the town ** set up a geographical indication tablet at the ridge of the highway leading to the county seat, officially named the specialty "Shili Xiang", and declared itself to be the "Southern Xiangdu".
Of course, I didn't plant star anise myself, but when I was about 14 or 5 years old, the school organized us to go to a forest farm near the Zhuya Reservoir to help people pick star anise. Not only did he learn agricultural lessons, but he also earned some wages to help support his family.
We carried our luggage for most of the day before we arrived at the forest farm, and after we settled down in Datong, we went to work and eat like migrant workers every day, went to the mountains to climb trees and pick star anise, and when we came back, the forest farm gave us appropriate remuneration according to the weight.
Those more than ten days of collective life were a very novel experience for us teenagers, it was really hard and happy, and I still remember it vividly.
This is the geographical indication plate of my hometown).
So, of course, I'm familiar with the octagonal and should never be mistaken.
But I haven't been confirmed, and I'm still worried in my heart. It wasn't until I went home a few days ago that I saw the octagonal tree on the hill behind my grandmother's house, and compared it clearly, so that I finally settled down.
This is the star anise that is being sunburned, and the quality is not good)
Let's first take a look at the previous methods of distinguishing between "octagonal" and "mangweed":
1. Count the "horns": Generally speaking, the "eight horns" of the star anise fruit grow thick, the color is brownish-red, and the horn tips are round and blunt and not sharp. Of course, there will be some more or less one, but 8 corners account for the majority.
It usually has 11 to 13 sharp horns and is a darker earthy yellow colorThe horns are relatively thin, with grooves at the tips and uneven edges.
2. Smell the "taste": star anise is a famous spice, smell it before you get it to your nose, and even before you get close to your face, its rich and natural fragrance comes to your nose.
Mangweed basically doesn't smell it, and even if it does, it's completely different from the fragrance of star anise.
3. Water "blister": The purpose of soaking in water is to identify whether there is sulfur residue in the star anise. Because the grass turns black when dried, people have to smoke it with sulfur in order to keep it yellow. As long as you put the star anise in a cup of warm water at about 30 degrees and soak it for a few minutes, if the water in the water cup does not change color, and you can smell the fragrance of star anise, then it is real star anise, and you can eat it with confidence. On the other hand, if you encounter water discoloration, it is best not to eat the star anise, even if it is true.
It is said that in addition to mangweed, star anise is also similar to red fennel and maple bark, but these two are also medicines themselves, and they are more valuable, and no one will deliberately use them to pass off as star anise.
As long as you follow the characteristics described earlier, you should not go wrong.
It's the same anise, but the difference is too obvious).
However, when I saw the star anise at my uncle's house, I told him my doubts, and he immediately took me to several star anise trees to observe and explain, and I came to the conclusion that the star anise is really more than just eight horns. Some even look like grass the longer they grow.
At present, there are four common star anise in the market: "spring flower star anise", winter fruit, dry branch star anise and "big red star anise". The four types of anise are harvested in different seasons and are also different.
Dried star anise is the cheapest of the 4 kinds, small and lightly fragrant, so it is also the cheapest. This is followed by winter fruits and "spring anise". Among them, the best quality is the "big red anise".
What our hometown produces is spring flower star anise and big red star anise. In fact, it is the difference between spring anise and autumn anise. That is, star anise is harvested twice a year, the autumn harvest is big red star anise, and the spring harvest is spring flower star anise.
The appearance of the two can also be distinguished: the spring anise fruit is thin and light red, while the big red anise fruit is full and fat, the color is bright red, and the color is ruddy.
grafted on the branches).
My uncle told me that most of the current anise trees have been dwarfed and grafted.
Native anise trees grow tall and have a long fruiting period, but it takes seven or eight years from seedling planting to fruiting, and sometimes they bear fruit only once a year, or only once in a year, and harvest very little in another season.
So, now people can't wait, so they have developed the grafting method. It is to graft the new seedlings directly onto the grown anise tree, and it only takes four or five years to bear fruit.
This, of course, is also the inevitable outcome of all crops under the utilitarian mind of human beings.
Everything is only for quantity, speed, and profit, and finally the quality naturally changes.
This ** is indeed star anise, but after drying, it is estimated that it looks like mangweed. )
And this octagonal grafting is not the same as the grafting that people usually come into contact with, that is, only the branches are grafted, not the main stem.
Therefore, the effect of the result is also different depending on the part of the grafting, whether the branch is strong or not, the sun does not shine much, and the fruit that grows is of course different.
In such a situation, some of them are very full, while others are thin and look very much like mangweed.
When dried, purchased and sold, of course, more detailed sorting and sorting cannot be carried out, and the price can only be graded according to the quantity of good fruits.
So, there is what I said, which doesn't look like the previous anise. But they are all still star anise, and the total number of horns is still based on 8, with a little more or less, and the fragrance is slightly darker.
If you can pick and choose carefully when buying, you can still buy your favorite red anise.
The star anise on the same branch has different fruits).
Now, a town in my hometown alone has a total planting area of 210,000 mu and a total output of 720,000 tons, with a total output value of about 7300 million yuan, cinnamon and star anise have become the most important income of the villagers in a year, and have become a famous spice industry town in Guangxi.
The newly erected spice industry logo monument on the side of the road near my home in Linggang is also well deserved, and the brand effect is beginning to appear.
However, I still suggest that the local government can further introduce capital, deepen technology, and engage in deep processing. After all, the profit of selling agricultural products to make the most primitive money is not high, and the further the industrial chain, the greater the profit.
For example, even if it is the earliest finished product sales link, it should be studied, and an automatic processing line for sorting should be made, and the value will definitely be greatly improved after the excellent fruit and high price.
At least the best kind of star anise can be sold directly to people who use it for cooking, and almost enough it is powdered for other purposes.
lest the reputation of the big red anise of the hometown be ruined.