Star Anise

Star anise looks like a little wooden star, and each point feels hard and woody under your thumb. Break a pod and smell it before you buy: it should hit you fast, sweet and warm, almost like liquorice but sharper. If there's barely any smell at all, move on and try another jar.

Drop a few pods into a broth and let it simmer slowly and for a long time. Give it time, and the whole kitchen starts to smell of it, not just the pot. Colour matters too. A good pod is reddish brown, solid to the touch. If a pod looks pale, grey and dusty, that's your sign to skip it and look for a fresher batch.

Some people say star anise and anise seed are the same spice, just different sizes. No! They come from completely different plants and only share a name because they smell similar. Treat them as interchangeable and you'll get the amount wrong, using too much or too little, and the dish won't taste the way you meant it to.

Buy whole pods, always. Ground star anise fades fast, and once it does, you're just adding brown dust.