How to cook fennel
Information for fennel in our free cooking ingredients collection.
Fennel
Fennel is an aromatic herb similar in appearance to dill. It has pale yellowish-green, hollow stems and bright-green, feathery leaves. The clear yellow flowers of fennel produce seed structures that resemble umbrellas. Both the root and the leaves have a mild licorice flavor. The seeds have a pungent, aromatic scent.
Family - Umbelliferae
Scientific name - Foeniculum vulgare (dulce)
Common name - fennel, sweet anise
Fennel is not a significant source of nutrients
Variety
The two basic types of fennel, common fennel and Florence fennel, bear a close resemblance to one another but are used differently. The shoots, leaves, and seeds (called “fruit”) of the common fennel are used primarily as flavoring agents for food. Several varieties of common fennel have seeds that differ in length, width, and taste. These include the sweet variety, also known as French or Roman fennel, characterized by long, yellowish green fruit with a sweet flavor; Indian fennel, which is brownish, smaller, and less rounded; and the pale-green Persian and Japanese varieties, which are the smallest and have a stronger anise flavor and odor.
Florence fennel, also called finocchio, is somewhat smaller than common fennel and is grown mainly for its broad, bulbous leaf base, which is eaten as a vegetable.
Origin and botanical facts
Fennel is native to the Mediterranean region and was well known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Romans enjoyed the young shoots as both a flavoring and, according to their belief, an aid to controlling obesity. The Greeks called it “marathon”, a name derived from “maraino”, meaning “to grow thin”. From the Mediterranean, fennel was carried east to India and also north to Europe and England, especially to Roman colonies. Spanish settlers are believed to have brought fennel to the Western Hemisphere more than 200 years ago. In 1824, the American consul at Liverpool gave Thomas Jefferson fennel seeds for his garden at Monticello.
Fennel is a long-lived plant that thrives almost anywhere. Fennel plants usually grow to 3 or 4 feet but have been known to reach 7 feet. Young plants form a bulbous, thick root the first year and flower the following summer. By midsummer, the clusters of small yellow blossoms begin to droop with the weight of the heavy seeds. Leaves can be picked at any time, and seeds should be harvested when they begin to turn brown. A single plant produces about 1/4 cup of seeds and 1 cup of leaves.
How to cook fennel
Fennel can be refrigerated unwashed in a plastic bag up to 1 week.
All parts of the fennel plant are edible. The mildly licorice-flavored leaves are used as a seasoning for fish. They also can be chopped for salads, dressings, dips, and cream sauces. The seeds have a more pungent flavor and are used either whole or ground as an ingredient in curries, pies, breads, and sausages and in a variety of soups and stews. The bulb can be sliced and eaten raw in salads, cooked in stews, added to pasta dishes, sauteed in oil, or baked and served with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
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