The Science of Spice

94 Spice Profiles

Herbalists throughout the ages, from

the Vedic tradition of India to the

authors of Ancient Greek medical

texts, have endorsed fennel for its

sight-restoring powers and as an

antidote to snake bites. The Greek

for fennel is maratho, and the plains

of Marathon, where the Greeks won

a decisive battle against the Persians

in 490 BCE, were named for their

“fennel fields”. The Romans

introduced the spice to all the lands

they conquered, and by the early

medieval period its popularity was

widespread across Europe, thanks

in part to the King of the Franks,

Emperor Charlemagne (742–814 CE),

who demanded that it be cultivated

on his Imperial farms. European

colonists used fennel as a preservative

and to disguise the flavour of meat

past its best. They spread the plant

to the Americas and Australia, where

wild escapees are now considered

noxious weeds.

Region of cultivation

Native to the Mediterranean and cultivated

throughout Europe, fennel is in fact mainly

produced in India. Other notable growers

include Turkey, Japan, Argentina, North Africa,

and the USA (mostly California).

The plant

A hardy, herbaceous

perennial in the carrot

family, fennel grown

for spice comes in two

forms: wild bitter

fennel and cultivated

sweet fennel.

Whole

Bitter fennel has a mildy bitter

taste a little like celery seed.

Anise-like sweet fennel

is more widely available.

Fruits are

produced by tiny

yellow flowers

Fruits are

soft enough to

eat whole

Oval husk

contains

the seeds

Sweet fennel

grows a swollen

stem base

BOTANICAL NAME

Foeniculum vulgare (bitter fennel),

F. v. var. dulce (sweet fennel)

ALSO KNOWN AS

Sweet cumin.

MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUND

Anethole.

PARTS USED

Fruits (misnamed seeds), pollen.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

Plants are cut when the seeds have

matured on the flowering umbels and

taken on a sage green colour.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATION

Umbels bearing the fruits are dried, then

threshed, cleaned, and graded.

NON-CULINARY USES

Essential oil in cough medicines, soaps,

and perfumes. In herbal medicine to

improve vision and aid digestion.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

NORTH AFRICA

TURKEY

FENNEL

Aniseedy | Warming | Bittersweet

Spice story

Colour ranges from

green to yellow-brown

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