Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Star Anise

Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers star anise's optimal flavour pairings.

Star anise is defined by the distinctive flavours of liquorice and fennel, yet its initial bitterness is only the opening note. Beneath lies a tapestry of balsam, whispers of clove, and the turpentine sweetness of resin that give it remarkable depth. The true alchemy of the kitchen unfolds when we pair star anise with ingredients that let these nuances sing.

To chart these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, each deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, pinpointing the notes that best complement this ingredient’s profile. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the marine, briny iodine in mackerel can enrich star anise, and how anchovy's oceanic notes forge a beautiful synergy with its sweet-spicy aroma.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like spice, nectarous, and floral, combined with its unique aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim to include a broad variety of core characteristics for a balanced dish. And choose aroma notes that complement each other for a harmonious combination.

Flavour Pairing Method

To understand how flavour notes harmonise, we analysed more than 50,000 popular ingredient combinations. By exploring these pairings, we identified specific flavour notes that frequently occur together, indicating they share a harmonious relationship.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Liquorice Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of liquorice is strongly associated with the flavour of iodine. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a oceanic flavour, such as anchovy, when pairing with the liquorice notes of star anise.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing star anise with anchovy.

Harmonious Flavours Of Star Anise

Just as our analysis found that liquorice and oceanic flavours are often associated, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in star anise. For instance, the fennel notes of star anise are strongly associated with petrichor and spinachy flavours.

The notes associated with the various accents of star anise can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of mackerel offers many of the notes complementary to star anise, including oceanic and fatty aroma accents. Because the flavour profile of mackerel has many of the of the features that are complementary to star anise, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of mackerel across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with star anise.

Recipes That Pair Star Anise With Mackerel

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the aroma notes that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of star anise, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of star anise, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aromas complementary to star anise.

What To Drink With Star Anise

The fatty notes in dairy make it a perfect pairing with star anise. Likewise, the cedar flavours in lemonade create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of star anise below.

Which Fruit Go With Star Anise?

Choose fruit that embrace its earthiness or ground its turpentine sweetness. Coconut and coconut purée offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Pear add a gentle, oniony brightness, while cox's apple introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with star anise's pungency. The addition of apple, with its subtle malic notes, can complement the clove beautifully, while green apple lends a crisp tartness.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Star anise), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.