Monday, April 1, 2013

Anise seeds ~ Aphrodisiacs from A to Z

Taken by mica uploaded by Charbelgereige [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons
Anise seeds come from the anise plant (bet you didn't see that coming). Similar to fennel seeds, they've long been used in foods, to spice them up, but also medicinally (for example, to ease coughs and gas pains). (And I gotta believe, there ain't nothin' hawt about flatulence.)

Y U SO SEX-AY?
Anise seeds contain the phytoestrogen anethole. Phytoestrogens are plant-derived "dietary estrogens." Essentially, consuming phytoestrogens can cause estrogenic effects in the body. Though both guys and dolls have estrogen in their systems, it's gals who benefit more from a healthy balance of estrogen, which promotes the female reproductive system. It makes us chicks feel good, and when we feel good, we want to get jiggy. (Perhaps I should only speak for myself on that one.)

I understand that anise seeds have a sweet, licorice taste, which rules them out for me (not a fan of licorice), though I could be persuaded to give recipe #3, below, a shot. (Geddit? A shot? Geddit?) Yeah, nevermind.

RECIPES

Click here to learn more about anise.

Sources

Blogging from A to Z April 2013

57 comments:

  1. Oooooh! Spiced Rum. Sounds good to me.

    This is a cool theme. I look forward to the rest of the month.

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  2. I've never been a huge fan of anise either, so I guess those recipes are out for me too :D

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  3. I'm not a fan of licorice either, but I'd definitely give the spiced rum a try!

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  4. You can also use them as a breath freshener, just like fennel, which I always thought was the same thing - until now. :)

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    1. *** and fresh breath is sexy *** I shared this your post with Dear Aphrodite on facebook, and she's posted it already - best wishes

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    2. Hey, thanks so much, that's awesome! (And I've "Liked" this page...nice to know I've got some folks to call on for company if I'm ever lonely in Australia...) ;-)

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  5. Love this idea! Should be an interesting month!

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  6. Ahh I love aniseed. Maybe I should start eating it more!

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  7. Hello, From the A-Z
    No wonder my husband used to go bonkers over my anise bread.
    Manzanita
    Wanna Buy a Duck

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  8. I like Anise, but my wife hates it. ;) Looks like I will have to see what the rest of the Alphabet has to offer!

    Tim
    The Other Side
    Red Sonja: She-devil with a Sword

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    1. There'll be plenty to entertain her, rest assured. :-)

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  9. I knew it was a remedy for gases but not an aphrodisiac (nor that it came from the anise plant, hahaha) Surprise, surprise!

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  10. They make coke from anise in Slovakia, it tastes dreadful.
    This is a fun read! I'll keep checking back :) Cheers!

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  11. How interesting. And a remedy for gas, eh? Who know!

    Dani & Jax @ Cover Girls

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  12. Surprise! Surprise! Never knew this about aniseed...
    Will have to check back for more...

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  13. A long time ago, in Germany I was served anise liquor as an appetizer before meal. It was delicious!

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  14. I love learning stuff at these blogs. I am a cooker, too, so this hit me on my romance side and the culinary. Thanks! I'm doing A-Z for the first time. What a great fun.

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    1. I'm actually not much of a cook (though I make a splendid grilled cheese sandwich, if I do say so myself). (And I do.) But some of the recipes I've found tempt me...

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  15. Bloody hate licorice but I'm so with you on the spiced rum! Yep - that should bring a whole new jiggy to the getting jiggy part!

    Great topic :)

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  16. Nice one Mina! I'm with you on the licorice, except oddly enough I like certain allsorts. Weird? Oh yes...but this is me here lol. Here's to getting jiggy.

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    1. I thought allsorts were all licorice. No? Enlighten me, I'm ign'ant! :-)

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  17. I dis like licorice. It reminds me of those scratch-n-sniff stickers my grade school teachers would put on my homework. Yuck! But anti-gas is always a good thing!

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    1. Licorice-scented scratch and sniff stickers??? Ick! :-)

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  18. Cool, second post I've seen today featuring anise! One of my favorite drinks is Pastis 51. It's a French anise-flavored liqueur that you dilute with water. There's another one called Ricard, but I prefer Pastis.

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    1. Intriguing! Why do you need to dilute w/water?

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  19. Anise is a very popular herbal tea in Egypt. My hubby drinks it all the time as it's rumored to help sore throats and he's a singer). I don't like it for the same reason as you - I hate black licorice.
    Congrats on a great post for the first day of the A-Z. :-)

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    1. I'm a (lapsed) singer, too; need to get back in "good voice." I wonder if I can find that here...?

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  20. Interesting....I might be willing to try any of the recipes above, but I don't think I could do it in a tea. I'm not anti-black licorice flavor, but I can only handle it in small doses. Though, knowing this does make it tempting to give it a try ^_^

    ____

    Find me:
    Blog: http://allysonlindt.com
    email: Allyson.Lindt@gmail.com
    Twitter: @AllysonLindt

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  21. How interesting. I'm going to learn a lot here this month! Great start to the Challenge. :)

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  22. While I really can't stand licorice, I do love anise seeds in the Italian cookie called pizzelles (my family pronounces it: pit-SELLS). The recipe we use calls for a splash of Anisette liquor.

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  23. hmm... recipes too... you really are on fire and over the top with this theme ;)

    great post! back daily gauranteed! :)

    Adriana Dascalu at In Between

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  24. So you are an admin type person and taking part? How do you fit this all in? Do you have two heads and four arms? Like a Portuguese Shiva type deity?

    Great post by the way. Unfortunately, my wife dislikes aniseed too, so it's back to the powdered rhino horn for me. It's really expensive these days too....

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    1. "...a Portuguese Shiva type deity.." made me LOL. But then, you always do, my friend. :-)

      Also, as I mentioned above, there'll be other stuff I reckon a lady can enjoy. *Ahem*

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  25. In my opinion Anise is a slightly different flavour experience than licorice. It lacks the heavy undertone of licorice, and sort of has more of the high notes, if that makes sense? The classic black ball candy, the one that turned colours as it got smaller, had an anise seed at the centre.

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    1. I think I getcha. Interesting, about the black ball candy, don't think I've ever seen those in my neck of the woods...

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  26. Today I learned a lot of good things about anise. I'm going to give recipe #3 a shot and report back at some point after April.

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  27. Interesting.... good to know since I have hormone issues anyway. Always looking for things to balance naturally. :)

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    1. The only thing I've found that's been able to balance *me* is an antidepressant (I've been on it at the current dose for about 6 months and it's really helped, especially around "that time of the month.")

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  28. Love the theme for the challenge! I'm just stopping by to say hi. I'm back in the blogging world, under a new blog I'm running with my friend and CP partner, Karen. Hope I see you over there!! I'm following you now under the name Karen Tamara. Oh, btw, this is Tamara from One Magic Bean Buyer. :)

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    1. Oh, YAY!!! I did follow this new blog, will pop by to say howdy soonies.

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  29. My wife always kept plenty of anise on hand, Now I know why.

    Dropping by from A to Z. First year participating and very excited.

    Brett Minor
    Transformed Nonconformist

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  30. I'm quite partial to anise, licorice mmm mmm mmm!

    Time to get jiggy!

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  31. Pass the anise because I need to get a little jiggy right about now! Ha!

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  32. This has to be one of my favorite themes. As an erotica writer, I have to say...Oh Yeah. you know I'll be back here when I need to do some research. ;)I can't wait to see what else will be here each day.

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    1. Please do stop by on "E" day - I could use your feedback (plus, the "recipes" will be links to...um...spicy reads). :-D

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  33. Same here; licorice isn't a flavour I'm fond of, so no anise jigginess for me :P

    Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom
    www.mithrilwisdom.com

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  34. In India, these are chewn after meals to aid digestion, and I love their sweet aftertaste. Great to know it is also a sexy thing to eat ;)

    Thanks for all you're doing for the challenge Mina. This girl is grateful to you!

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  35. Thanks, so much, y'all, for visiting and checking out my naughtiness. :-) I'll do my best to visit all y'all back, soon as I can. <3

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  36. It is true, Anise has a licorice flavor. They make Absinthe out of it. I wanted so much to like Absinthe....but, just couldn't get past the licorice! :P

    Jamie Dement (LadyJai)
    http://writebackwards.we3dements.com

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  37. kewl, I'm looking forward to becoming more informed.

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  38. I don't like licorice AT ALL either, but I do love black jelly beans ;)

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C'mon, post a comment. All the cool kids do.