A quiet jar of star anise

A pack of star anise sat open by the hob after one stock — the stars already dull, the smell flat. Easy to leave them in the fold of the packet: by the next pot it smells of cardboard dust. I tip the whole stars into a small dry jar, bring the lid to a click, and put it on a cool shelf — far from kettle steam and the heat of the hob.

A quiet jar of star anise. Cardamom holds tea; nigella is a crust; fennel seeds are a light anise in a pinch. Here it is star anise itself: woody rays for stock and a braise, they need cool and a deaf lid — not a speech about a ground “five-spice” mix from the rack.

A bitter oily star I don’t save into a sauce — to the bin. Before the stock I break one ray, I don’t crush the whole jar ahead. I take only what is already open at ours, I’m not choosing a new packet “for kitchen scent”.

I don’t need star anise that went stale by the hob. I need a jar from which stock smells of a whole star again. In your kitchen does star anise stand cool under a lid — or still live as an open packet by the heat?