Anise! and don’t giggle!
Star Anise is probably my favorite flavor in both savory and sweet. I love Anisette cookies that my grandma made, and the fragrant, soy-sauced smell of anise-flavored red cooked port shoulder.
The word comes from Greek, anison (yes Jennifer’s family name probably) then to French as ‘anise’. It started in South China and Vietnam and came West with European explorers!