Such a delicious plant! Early in the season I nibbled on the wonderful leaves while in the garden. Incredible anise-licorice flavor. Mine is non-bulbing, coming back every year, bigger. My oldest at 4 years is hitting 8 ft.
My intention early in the year was to use leaves and flowers but like so many herbs, once it flowered the leaves had a bitter quality. Oh well. Next time I may harvest and freeze the leaves for later use.
I used a combination of flowers and the newly forming and still soft seeds. About 3 quarts (160 gr).
I was surprised at the intense volatility of the aromatic compounds - my basement smelled like anise for 3 days. I naturally wondered if there would be anything left for the wine. My worry was for naught, fortunately.
Transferred to secondary.
Wonderful anise aroma!
Flavor? Wonderful! Probably not for everybody - strong anise-licorice but not overpowering. At this point it almost has a candy quality. I'm very curious where this will go and the effect of back sweetening.
The only downside - I'm getting tired of yellow wines.
My intention early in the year was to use leaves and flowers but like so many herbs, once it flowered the leaves had a bitter quality. Oh well. Next time I may harvest and freeze the leaves for later use.
I used a combination of flowers and the newly forming and still soft seeds. About 3 quarts (160 gr).
I was surprised at the intense volatility of the aromatic compounds - my basement smelled like anise for 3 days. I naturally wondered if there would be anything left for the wine. My worry was for naught, fortunately.
Transferred to secondary.
Wonderful anise aroma!
Flavor? Wonderful! Probably not for everybody - strong anise-licorice but not overpowering. At this point it almost has a candy quality. I'm very curious where this will go and the effect of back sweetening.
The only downside - I'm getting tired of yellow wines.
