Anise Seed (Pimpinella anisum)

January 6, 2004

Hi Butch,

Thank you for the kind words about the list .. and thank you for this in

depth info about the Anise Seed Oil! I love to use it to make Greek

Anisette cookies, and the Star Anise just isn't the stuff to use for

that ;-p

Happy 2004 to you too!

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Butch Owen [butchbsi]

Hi y'all,

Happy 2004. I see the list membership has grown considerably since the

beginning of December .. most likely cause its the best list around.

Gonna share a post I sent to another list with you.

I've not posted this year as I've been busier than a one-laiged man

in a butt kicking contest .. and I saw no posts from any of the

groups .. so out of sight was out of mind.

Then today somebody sent me an off line question from Oils & Herbs,

so I checked my account and found that the rascals cut me off

on 31 December for a number of bounces .. 196 bounces. ;-p

Anyway .. I reactivated the account .. but I am still not receiving

messages. Whilst reading the archives for one list I noticed that

somebody who had previously asked me Rose Otto crystallizing .. and I

had replied and told them that Anise Seed also did that when cool ..

later about Star Anise (Illicium verum) also crystallizing when cold ..

and Martin came on line and said that also Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

would do this. Then Martin said, correctly, that most of the Anise

Seed out and about was really Star Anise .. and it is .. but there is

really no reason for it to be so.

They asked what was the difference in chemical composition. I don't

know the chemical composition of Star Anise as I have never sold it and

have no intentions of selling it .. but a typical top side analysis of

Anise Seed (Pimpinella anisum) from Turkey or Egypt would look a bit

like this .. + or -

Area %

1,8-cineole 0.15

estragole 1.35

p-anisic aldehyde 1.44

trans-anethole 94.87

anisic ketone 0.17

gamma-himachalene 0.47

limonene 0.45

And a bunch of trace chemicals to round it out to 100% cause the Great

Everywhere Spirit doesn't leave vacuums so things don't rattle around.

I'm not going to get into therapeutics here .. but there is much to

discuss in that regard .. and if my other PC .. in which most of my

files are stored .. was not inoperable right now I'd pull up the long

history of use of Anise Seed and whip it on you .. interesting it is

but I'm waiting for some smart college kid to make the PC work again

so I can transfer files to this one.

Star Anise is a heckuva lot cheaper and has far less odor than Anise

Seed (Pimpinella anisum) .. however, Anise Seed EO is NOT an expensive

EO .. its very inexpensive. Still, many dealers cut Anise Seed with

Star Anise .. this is simply a matter of greed .. and is not different

than some folks selling oils for LESS than the production cost .. I'm

100% certain of this as I'm a contract producer (among other things)

and I live in a country where labor costs are lower than whale dung.

Most of you know that I live in Ankara, Turkey .. though my wholesale

and retail operation is in Friendsville, Maryland. Turkey is one of

the major world producers of Anise Seed .. as are Russia, Egypt, Syria

and Hungary. There are no great bargains on ANY essential oil .. the

prices are controlled on an international scale like other commodities

and products like wheat, corn, soybeans, cement, etc. But smart folks

who would not buy a new Cadillac for $5,000 or a new refrigerator for

$50 .. neither or which we intend to ingest or inhale or place on their

skin .. will still buy cheap crap EO. :-(

Star Anise is considerably cheaper to make because the seeds cost far

less than do the Anise (Pimpinella anisum) Seeds. You'll always see the

Star Anise essential oil sold for less, both wholesale and retail, BUT,

the price difference should be greater than it is. When you see the

price range is close - and close is 50% - then you can bet there's some

Star Anise splashed into that Pimpinella anisum.

The latest government controlled market prices I have on hand are from

2000 .. I could find later if I had time but this illustration will

do for the point I'm making. Pimpinella anisum seed costs, and the oil

yield of the seeds from those countries were:

Turkey $2,700 per metric ton 5%-6% yield

Hungary $2,700 per metric ton 3%-4% yield

Egypt $3,400 per metric ton 5%-6% yield

Syria $1,900 per metric ton 2%-3% yield

Russia Unknown

Most Anise Seed is dealt with by spice dealers - they sieve the seeds

and those that are too small to be sold for premium price are used in

distillation. However, there will never be enough of those seeds, so a

lot of larger seeds are also used.

Bottom line - if you pay $1,900 for a MT of Syrian seeds you are paying

$1.90 per kilogram .. and with a 3% yield, you get 30 kilos of oil from

the seeds .. so cost of production (not counting labor, energy, etc.)

is $63 + per kilogram (2.205 pounds). But you won't find it selling

that high .. should tell us something .. huh?

If you pay $2,700 for a MT of seeds with a 6% yield, then your cost of

production is $45 per kilogram (2.205 pounds).

If you pay $3,400 for a MT of seeds with a 6% yield, then you cost of

production is $56.66 per kilogram (2.205 pounds).

Now .. keep in mind the following.

1. I used the high end on the yield.

2. I did not include labor, energy and profit for producers.

3. The buying price for bulk (100 to 1,000 kg) of oil will be less.

So .. we don't gotta be a rocket scientist to wonder (if we care about

more than cheap prices) how some folks sell it for less?

But you can find it selling for less than production cost .. and today,

following a season where Turkish and Bulgarian Rosa damascena prices

increased by 50% .. you can find folks selling Rose Otto for LESS than

the cost of production too. Rose Otto is my thing .. I live it and I

have my finger on the pulse of the trade. If someone claims they are

selling 2002 Rose Otto and not the more costly 2003 .. and you believe

it .. then check with me cause I got a bridge for sale in Istanbul ..

real cheap. IF we find someone who MIGHT have a small stash of 2002

Rose Otto (which is highly unlikely) and they are selling it for less

than the cost to replace it .. then its another reason to be careful

because folks and dawgs who are mad can turn on you in a minute.

Finally .. there is one company selling Chaste Tree Oil (Vitex agnus

castus) for less than production cost. From a metric ton of the leaf

or the fruit .. we get less than a kilo of oil .. closer to 850-900 gr

of oil. Its ALL wild grown and its ALL harvested by peasants and they

will not work for nothing.

There is a sorta private joke twixt Martin and I on some of the Rosa

damascena out and about .. I've renamed it Rosa donkeypisscena. ;-9

Enough of that and onward. ;-p

Anise Seed and grapes are co-distilled to produce the national drink of

Turkey .. Raki .. often called Lion's Milk. Though there's probably no

law on the books its said here that its against the law to eat fish

without drinking Raki .. and if there is no law, there oughta be one

and I always tell visitors we gotta order Raki with fish in case the

Raki police come around. ;-)

Raki is called Lion's Milk cause it starts out clear as water but when

you dilute it with water it turns milky. Raki is found in other places

around this neck of the woods .. in Greece its called Ouzo .. though the

Greek Ouzo also includes apricots and is much sweeter .. and though they

both are but 80 proof one can get knocked out on Ouzo quicker cause its

sweeter so it slides down quicker. In those Arab countries that drink

alcohol (many do) its called Arak .. same as Raki.

The other reason its called Lion's Milk is because when one has had a

glass or three they roar like a Lion .. later they act like a donkey.

Though many Turks do drink it when not dining (I don't) they still have

a plate of cheese, olives and fruit with it .. its not something folks

should drink without food.

Anyway .. that's it .. my first post of the year to the list.

Again Happy 2004.

January 7, 2004