Five Spice

What is Five Spice?

Chinese five spice powder is made of five things, but no one can agree on the fifth one. Cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, and star anise must be used. Then it gets tricky: either black peppercorns or Sichuan peppercorns make up the fifth spice. In China, it really depends on who you ask. Even in the south of China, dried tangerine peel is used instead of cinnamon.

So, like most blends, it has rules about how to put it together, but you only have to follow them if you want to and if you can agree on whose rules to follow.

This 5-spice seasoning is mostly used to rub or marinate pork or duck because it brings out their naturally salty and savory flavors. This Chinese seasoning powder goes well with soy sauce, garlic, scallions, and ginger.

It’s Used:

This Five Spice Powder is used in Chinese cooking, but it tastes great when added to any sauce or marinade. Used in rubs to add a unique flavor to pork, chicken, or seafood. Use a rub before roasting a duck or chicken to give it a spicy-sweet taste. 

It’s substitute:

Sesame Seasoning, Star Anise Ground, Ginger Ground, Fennel Seed, Anise Seed, Cloves.

Five spice health benefits:

Even though you probably won't eat enough Chinese 5 Spice to get a lot of health benefits from it, the spices in it are a great source of antioxidants and minerals such as copper, iron, and manganese.

Cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns are its five strong parts.

◉ Cinnamon Is Loaded with Antioxidants:  There are a lot of powerful polyphenol antioxidants in cinnamon.

◉ Cloves can reduce inflammation:  Several compounds in cloves have been linked to anti-inflammatory effects. Eugenol is the one that is most important. Eugenol has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body. This makes diseases like arthritis less likely and makes it easier to deal with their symptoms.

◉ Rich in Powerful Bioactive Compounds:  Star anise has a lot of flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds, which could help it be used as a medicine.

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Best Five Spice info at a glance: