Anise

Pimpinella anisum

Anise is an annual herbaceous plant 30-50 cm high, known as spices and medicines in Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece. Even ancient herbariums attributed to him healing properties in many diseases. Homeland anise is considered the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Currently, it is bred almost all over the world because of fragrant fruits. The highest quality of

is Italian and Moravian anise. The most famous countries, cultivating it, are India, Mexico, Spain, Italy and Turkey.

Description: The stem of the plant is branched, the leaves are of three kinds. Flowers are white or pink, collected in large complex umbrellas. The calyx of the flower is shallow, the corolla consists of five petals and five stamens. Anise flowers in the summer. Fruits are double-seeded, back-pear-shaped, 3-5 mm long, grayish-yellow or greenish-brown with a rough surface.

Ingredients: fruits contain essential and fatty oils, protein substances, sugars, furfural, coffee and chlorogenic acid and other substances. Typical anise aroma fruits are anethole, which in essential oil contains up to 80-90

%. Anetol is the main constituent of anise oil, from which valuable anisic aldehyde is obtained.

The varieties AS Alekseevsky and Voronezh are used for seeding anise.

Cultivation: anise is relatively cold and hygrophilous. The most demanding of heat during flowering and ripening of seeds. Rainy cold weather leads to a disease of inflorescences and weak umbrella umbrellas. Grow it on light, fertile, non-acidic soils. Swampy, heavy loamy, easy to swim soils are unsuitable for growing anise. The site under the crops of anise should be cleared of rhizome weeds, especially from wheat grass and sow.

Seeds germinate slowly due to the special structure of the fruit and the seed coat, which is impermeable to water and air. The rate of germination is also affected by soil temperature: at 3-4 ° C shoots appear after 25-30 days, and at higher - in 14-16 days. To obtain amicable shoots, the seeds are soaked in water for 2-3 days before sowing. Water is changed daily. Place the anise after potatoes, vegetables. It can not be sown after coriander: both cultures affect the same pests and diseases.

Soil is prepared from autumn, digging to a depth of 20-25 cm. Autumn processing is applied to compost, manure or other organic fertilizers. In spring the soil is dug or loosened to a depth of 5-6 cm, leveled and slightly compacted.

Anise is sown in April in rows, located at a distance of 30 cm. During the summer, it is necessary to loosen between rows of anise and in abundant water to water abundantly. From seedling to seed ripening, 120-150 days pass.

Collection: maturing plants mow or cut mature umbrellas. Mature fruits acquire a greenish-gray color. Snapshots or umbrellas of anise are left on the dosage and dried in the shade and in a draft, the dry plants are threshed.

Medicinal properties: has expectorant, laxative and disinfectant effect, is applied against flatulence, promotes the formation of milk in nursing mothers, improves digestion. Has an antispasmodic effect in intestinal and gastric colic. It also serves to improve the taste and smell of medicines and products.

Application: it has an intense, light, refreshing, characteristic spicy aroma. In the ground form it smells sweet, refreshing, spicy, sweet. In medicine it is used in the form of infusion, aniseed oil, syrup and ammonia-anise drops. In the pharmaceutical industry, anis is used for the production of syrups, lozenges, medicines, medicinal teas, fragrant waters and essential oil ( Oleum anisi). As a spice, ground fruits are used. Most often they are added to various pies, cookies, gingerbread, fritters, muffins and small cookies for a Christmas table. Anise is added to dairy and fruit soups, oatmeal, sweet dishes from rice, puddings, fruit salads, creams, cakes. Seeds of anise and anise oil are also used for baking bread and making famous aniseed vodka and liquor. A peculiar taste gives it beets, red cabbage, cucumbers and carrots, various fruit compotes, especially from apples, plums and pears.