ottawa foodies

I've been to several grocery stores and none of them carry Star Anise extract. I'm hoping that somebody here has a shop they know about that carries Star Anise.

Thanks in advance,

Tony

You can buy star anise in Chinese grocery stores so would try
T&T
Kowloon
Wai-Tai market by Mandarin Olgavie

Not sure about extract though. I would think you would have trouble finding that in the smaller stores, maybe T&T.

Yes, I can find the actual Star Anise in a number of places; however, it is the extract I require. Alternatively, I could also use the oil, but I thought this would be even harder to find. 2Tbsp extract vs 2 drops oil. I bought the "Club House" brand of extract several years ago in their typical 43mL bottles.

I'll give T&T a try and see if they have it. Thanks!

Tony

Make your own ! (a la Rizak's vanilla extract biz).

1) get star anise pods and crack apart
2) soak in neutral spirits (ethanol/Silent Sam Vodka)
3) agitate occasionally
4) be patient.

How long to get a good extract ? Rizak ?

An internet search using "making star anise extract" turned up some results.

For anise extract, fill a 1/2 pint canning jar with whole star anise. Fill with vodka, leave indefinitely.

I have no idea how long it would take and it doesn't say how much anise to use, but a potent spice like this would flavour a small amount of alcohol fairly quickly, I'd think. You may have to experiment or do a bit more research than the 30 seconds that I did.

I buy it at Bulk Barn whenever I need it.

The Metro on Greenbank has star anise extract.

I found it at Loblaw's at College Square last weekend.