Pernod is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 21 recipes to get you started.

What is pernod?

Pernod is a French anise liqueur, a clear, golden spirit that tastes of licorice and fennel with a warm star-anise edge. It was created in 1920 as a legal stand-in for absinthe, which had been banned, so it carries that same bracing anise punch without the wormwood.

It belongs to the pastis family, the southern-French aperitifs traditionally sipped over ice with water, where the drink turns milky and cloudy. That cloudiness comes from the anise oils dropping out of solution when chilled or diluted.

In the kitchen, Pernod does one thing better than almost anything: it makes seafood taste more like itself. A small splash brings out the natural sweetness in fish and shellfish.

Cooking With Pernod

The anise note has a natural affinity for the sea, which is why classic French seafood dishes reach for it. Bouillabaisse Et Rouille and Soup De Poisson both build their broth on a hit of Pernod, and Steamed Mussels in Fennel Pernod Broth puts it right in the name.

Two moves do most of the work. Splash it into a pan to deglaze after searing scallops or fish, then let it cook down into the sauce.

Or flambe it. Add it off the heat, tip the pan to catch a flame, and burn off the raw alcohol while the anise perfume stays behind.

It is also a quiet finisher in cream sauces and soups. Best Oysters Rockefeller and Antoine's Oysters Rockerfeller fold it into the buttery spinach topping, Turbot Poached with Pernod leans on it for the poaching liquid, and Escargot En Croute uses it in the garlic butter.

A teaspoon or two does the whole job. Pernod is intense, so measure rather than pour.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Pernod was made for seafood, fennel, leeks, spinach, garlic butter, and cream. It also flatters tomato-based seafood stews and even turns up in baking, lending an anise note to Chocolate-Dipped Biscotti.

The most common mistake is heavy-handedness. Anise is assertive, and too much Pernod takes over a delicate fish until the whole plate tastes of black licorice. Start with a teaspoon and add more only after tasting.

The second mistake is adding it raw at the end. Uncooked, the alcohol reads sharp and medicinal. Give it at least a minute of simmering, or a quick flambe, so the harsh edge cooks off and only the aromatic sweetness remains.

Substitutes

Any anise spirit covers Pernod closely. Pastis brands like Ricard are nearly identical, while ouzo or sambuca work with a small adjustment for their added sweetness.

For a non-alcoholic stand-in, steep a pinch of crushed fennel seed or a star anise pod in the cooking liquid, or add a few drops of anise extract diluted in water. Neither gives the same lift a spirit does, but both deliver the licorice note.

Tarragon is the surprise swap when no anise spirit is around. Its anise-like aroma comes from a close relative of the anethole that flavors Pernod, so a spoon of chopped tarragon nudges a sauce in the right direction.

Buying and Storing Pernod

Pernod sells in the liqueur aisle, usually as Pernod Anise at around 40 percent alcohol or the milder 21st-century blend; either works for cooking. A single bottle lasts years in a home kitchen because recipes use so little.

Being a high-proof spirit, it does not spoil. Keep the bottle tightly capped at room temperature, away from heat and direct light, and it stays good more or less indefinitely.

If you only cook with it occasionally, buy the smallest bottle you can find. One splash per recipe means even a half-bottle will outlast most other things in your liquor cabinet.

Quick facts

In Chinese

保乐力加

British (UK) term

Pernod

en français

pernod

en español

Pernod

Recipes using pernod

There are 21 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 21 recipes