Jeopardy Stuff
Anise or aniseed, Pimpinella anisum, is very similar in flavor to fennel, licorice and star anise. It turns out there is a simple reason for this. They all have in common Anethole.
Anethole is a widely used flavoring substance which can be produced by deriving it from another compound. However, anethole is the common link between anise, star anise, fennel and licorice. That’s why they all taste, more or less, the same. Closely related to anethole is estragole (estragon is French for tarragon), which is an isomer. Yeah, what? An isomer is a compound with the same elements as another compound, but arranged in a different pattern.
Permit me a crude, but I hope illustrative example. 3 cooks are presented with the same ingredients: 2 eggs, half a cup each of onions, peppers and tomatoes. Each cook makes a different dish. Same ingredients differently arranged.
