Smell

Anise

An anise scent is one of the most pleasant and distinctive smells you can come across in the forest. To a mycologist it brings to mind licorice candy or sambuca. It is an extremely reliable diagnostic feature, because it occurs in only a very small number of macromycetes.

12 species in the database.

Mushrooms that smell of anise

M.Ya. Zerova notes in her «Key to the Fungi of Ukraine» that the anise smell comes from specific volatile essential compounds. The main carriers of this aroma are two completely different genera of mushrooms:

1. The aniseed funnel (Clitocybe odora): A small mushroom with a characteristic bluish or greenish-grey cap that grows in deciduous and mixed forests. Roger Phillips in his guide «Mushrooms» describes its smell as "so strong that you can sense it several meters away before you even see the mushroom." It is edible and often used as a seasoning thanks to its aroma.

2. Wild Agaricus mushrooms (Agaricus): David Arora in «Mushrooms Demystified» singles out the anise smell as a key safety marker for wild Agaricus. The horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) and the wood mushroom (Agaricus silvicola) have a very pleasant smell of anise (or almond). This feature lets you tell them apart from the poisonous yellow stainer, which smells of phenol.

How to recognize the anise smell

The anise smell is usually very persistent. If you are in doubt:

- Gently rub the gills or break the cap.

- Sniff the base of the stem (this matters especially for Agaricus).

The aroma should be clean and sweetish, with no hint of rot or chemicals.

Questions and answers

Are there poisonous mushrooms that smell of anise?

Among the mushrooms of European forests with a clearly pronounced anise aroma, there are no deadly poisonous species. However, some species of funnels (Clitocybe) can be toxic and have a faint, vague sweetish smell, so the cap color (bluish) combined with a strong anise smell is important for Clitocybe odora.

Does the anise smell disappear when cooked?

Yes, the essential compounds responsible for this smell are highly volatile. During cooking most of the anise aroma evaporates, leaving an ordinary mushroom flavor.

How do you use the aniseed funnel in cooking?

Because its aroma is so intense, this mushroom is rarely cooked as a dish on its own. Experienced cooks dry it, grind it into a powder and use it as a piquant spice for sauces or meat dishes.

Sources

1.Зерова М.Я. та ін. Визначник грибів України. 1979
2.Roger Phillips. Mushrooms (Roger Phillips)
3.David Arora. Mushrooms Demystified
4.Index Fungorum