Star Anise
Star anise is the dried fruit of Illicium verum, an evergreen tree of southern China and northern Vietnam, harvested before full ripeness and dried to a hard, reddish brown, eight pointed star of boat shaped carpels, each usually holding a single glossy seed. It is unrelated botanically to anise, Pimpinella anisum, but shares its dominant aroma compound and is used for the same purpose at a fraction of the cost.
The aroma is carried by an essential oil that makes up around five to nine percent of the dried fruit and consists of eighty to ninety percent trans anethole, with foeniculin, limonene, linalool, methyl chavicol and anisaldehyde making up most of the balance. Anethole is intensely sweet and liquorice like, is far more potent in its trans form than its cis form, and isomerises slowly under acid and light, which is one reason star anise is stored whole and dark. The fruit also contains shikimic acid, historically the industrial starting material for the antiviral oseltamivir, which for a period drove the price of the spice.
The spice is traded whole, broken, ground and as extracted oil and oleoresin. Whole fruit holds its aroma for a long time because the volatile oil remains in intact cells, while ground material loses top notes quickly and is normally packed under an oxygen barrier. The oil is only slightly soluble in water and crystallises below about twenty degrees Celsius, so it is warmed and homogenised before use.
We source bulk Star Anise from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shandong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Reddish brown eight pointed stars, or free flowing ground powder |
| Odour and Taste | Characteristic sweet liquorice aroma, no musty or mouldy note |
| Identification | Macroscopic examination confirms Illicium verum, Illicium anisatum absent |
| Volatile Oil | Not less than 5.0 ml/100 g |
| Trans Anethole in Volatile Oil | Not less than 80% |
| Moisture | Not more than 12.0% |
| Total Ash | Not more than 5.0% |
| Whole Stars, whole grade | Not less than 90% |
| Lead | Not more than 3.0 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 1.0 mg/kg |
| Total Aflatoxins | Not more than 10 microgram/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 100,000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould | Not more than 1,000 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Commercial grades are set by appearance and by oil content. A whole star grade is specified on the proportion of complete unbroken stars, on colour, on the absence of mould and on the proportion of broken points and stalk, with autumn crop material generally darker and higher in oil than spring crop. Broken and pointed grades are traded lower and go mainly to grinding and to extraction. Volatile oil content in millilitres per hundred grams is the analytical grade marker, and moisture is specified tightly because the fruit reabsorbs water readily and moulds.
Ground grades are specified by mesh, from a coarse cracked spice to an eighty mesh powder for seasoning blends. Extracted grades cover steam distilled star anise oil, quoted on trans anethole content and on congealing point, solvent extracted oleoresin quoted on volatile oil content, and anethole itself, isolated by fractional crystallisation of the oil, which is traded as a single aroma chemical. Steam sterilised grades are used for products that receive no further heat step.
Applications
- Chinese five spice powder, in which it is the dominant component
- Braised and red cooked meats, lu wei master stocks and marinated cold dishes
- Hotpot and dry pot bases, added whole to the frying stage
- Cured and dried sausage, preserved meats and pressed duck
- Pho, stock bases and Southeast Asian broths, toasted before use
- Bakery and confectionery, where the oil supplies a liquorice note without the cost of anise
- Liqueurs and spirits such as pastis, ouzo and anise flavoured spirits, using the distilled oil
- Soft drinks and root beer style beverages, using a deterpenated oil
- Oral care and pharmaceutical flavouring, using anethole isolated from the oil
- Shikimic acid extraction as a chemical feedstock, using low grade and broken fruit
Brands Using Star Anise
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Star Anise on the ingredient label.
- McCormickMcCormick Gourmet Star Anise, 0.42 oz ↗Whole star anise sold as a single spice in the McCormick Gourmet line, described for use in braised meats, soups, pho and mulled drinks.Label verified 2026-08-31
- McCormickMcCormick Gourmet Chinese Five Spice Blend, 1.75 oz ↗A five spice blend that combines anise, cinnamon, star anise, clove and ginger.Label verified 2026-08-31
- The Spice HouseStar Anise, Broken Pieces ↗Whole star anise sold as broken pods, described as the licorice scented spice used in pho and Taiwanese beef noodle soup.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Burlap & BarrelSmoked Star Anise ↗Hand picked star anise from the Vietnam and China border region, dried over a wood fire so the pods carry a smoky note.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Curio Spice Co.Star Anise, Vietnamese ↗Single origin Vietnamese star anise pods sold whole for use in five spice blends, pho, biryani and masala chai.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Oaktown Spice ShopStar Anise, Whole ↗Whole star anise pods sold as a single spice, described as a key ingredient in Chinese five spice and Vietnamese pho.Label verified 2026-08-31
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Star Anise
Top Star Anise manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Star anise is a spice and a food, not a food additive, and carries no E number. In the United States 21 CFR 182.10 lists it as generally recognised as safe, and 182.20 lists its essential oil and oleoresin, with flavouring use additionally supported through the FEMA GRAS programme. In the European Union it is a food and a source of natural flavourings under general food law and the flavourings framework.
Two issues dominate compliance. The first is species adulteration. Japanese star anise, Illicium anisatum, closely resembles Illicium verum but contains the neurotoxic sesquiterpene lactones anisatin and neoanisatin, and adulterated consignments have caused poisoning, particularly in infant infusions, so authenticity testing by appearance and by chromatography is a standard release requirement and both major markets have issued warnings against the use of star anise infusions for infants. The second is the naturally occurring constituents estragole, also called methyl chavicol, and methyleugenol, both of which are subject to maximum levels in flavourings and in certain foods under the European flavourings framework, and which in practice cap the dosage of star anise oil in that market. Aflatoxin and ochratoxin A limits, pesticide residue limits and the European prohibition on ethylene oxide treatment apply as they do to other dried spices. Codex covers the material through its standards and code of hygienic practice for spices and dried aromatic herbs.
Manufacturing Process
Fruit is harvested by hand from mature trees before the carpels open, blanched briefly in some producing areas to fix the colour and to stop enzymatic activity, and then dried in the sun or in mechanical dryers to a moisture level low enough to prevent mould. Drying temperature is limited, since the volatile oil is lost readily and overheated fruit turns dark and brittle. The dried stars are cleaned through sieves, air classifiers, destoners, magnets and optical sorters that remove stalk, leaf, stone, metal and mouldy or discoloured fruit, then graded by hand or by machine into whole, broken and pointed fractions.
Material intended for grinding is milled in a hammer or pin mill, generally under chilled or cryogenic conditions because the high oil content makes the fruit sticky and heat drives the anethole off. Steam sterilisation is applied where the destination product has no kill step. Extraction runs on a separate train, with cleaned fruit steam distilled in a stainless still, the vapour condensed and the oil separated from the aqueous distillate by density difference, and the crude oil dried, filtered and, where required, fractionated under vacuum. Anethole is isolated by chilling the oil so that it crystallises and separating the crystals by centrifugation. Oleoresin is made instead by solvent percolation with vacuum solvent recovery. All grades are metal detected and packed in a moisture and oxygen barrier.
