Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare showing a mature plant in thewild (left), close-up of the flowers (top), the seed head and
fruit (bottom) and close-up of the fronds (right).
| Common Name: Fennel |
| Scientific Name: Foeniculum vulgare |
| Other Names: Sweet Fennel |
| Family: Apiaceae |
| Range: Origin: Fennel is native to S. Europe. Naturalized in Britain |
Physical Characteristics
Foeniculum vulgare is an evergreen Perennial growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a medium rate. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife.Suitable for: moist, fertile, neutral to basic soils It prefers saline soil. light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. |
| Edible Parts: flowers, leaves, oil, root, seeds, stems |
 Edibility Rating: 2 
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 Known Hazards: Skin contact with the sap or essential oil is said to cause photo-sensitivity and/or dermatitis in some people[218, 222]. Ingestion of the oil can cause vomiting, seizures and pulmonary oedema[222]. Avoid for small children. Avoid if cirrhosis/liver disorders.
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Monthly Availability:
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Fennel along with all the Fennel containing recipes presented on this site, with 266 recipes in total.
These recipes, all contain Fennel as a major wild food ingredient.
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare,/em> is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea coast and on riverbanks. It is a highly flavorful herb used in cooking and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio (UK: /fɪˈnɒkioʊ/, US: /-ˈnoʊk-/, Italian: [fiˈnɔkkjo]) is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base (sometimes called bulb fennel) that is used as a vegetable.
Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial herb. The stem is hollow, erect, and glaucous green, and it can grow up to 2.1 meters (7 feet) tall. The leaves grow up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about 0.5 millimeters (1⁄64 in) wide. Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner. The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels 5–17.5 cm (2–7 in) wide, each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The fruit is a dry schizocarp from 4–10 mm (3⁄16–3⁄8 in) long, half as wide or less, and grooved. Since the seed in the fruit is attached to the pericarp, the whole fruit is often mistakenly called "seed".
The word 'Fennel' came into Old English from Old French fenoil which in turn came from Latin faeniculum, a diminutive of faenum, meaning "hay". Indeed, it was the Romans who introduced fennel as a culinary herb into Britain.
Fennel has become naturalized along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, the United States, southern Canada, and much of Asia and Australia. It propagates well by both root crown and seed and is considered an invasive species and a weed in Australia and the U.S. It can drastically alter the composition and structure of many plant communities, including grasslands, coastal scrub, riparian, and wetland communities. It appears to do this by outcompeting native species for light, nutrients, and water and perhaps by exuding allelopathic substances that inhibit the growth of other plants.
The foliage, and fruit, roots and stems of the fennel plant are used in many of the culinary traditions of the world. The small flowers of wild fennel (known as fennel 'pollen') are the most potent form of fennel, but also the most expensive. Dried fennel fruit is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice, brown or green when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the fruit ages. For cooking, green fruits are optimal. The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to dill. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, roasted or eaten raw. Tender young leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavour to salads, to flavour sauces to be served with puddings, and in soups and fish sauce. Both the inflated leaf bases and the tender young shoots can be eaten like celery.
Fennel leaves are used in some parts of India as leafy green vegetables either by themselves or mixed with other vegetables, cooked to be served and consumed as part of a meal. In Syria and Lebanon, the young leaves are used to make a special kind of egg omelette (along with onions and flour) called ijjeh.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1999
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–12.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants, 2004
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland, 2011
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) — How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland, 2006
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles, 1983
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles, 1987
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms, 2006
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms, 2011
[12]. Bunker, F. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, Second Edition, 2017
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia II — A Source Book of Edible Plants, 1998
[14]. Hartford, R. Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of Britain and Ireland: A Foraging and Photographic Identification Guide
(Note that the above book links are Amazon Affiliate links)
These recipes, all contain Fennel as a major wild food ingredient.
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare,/em> is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea coast and on riverbanks. It is a highly flavorful herb used in cooking and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio (UK: /fɪˈnɒkioʊ/, US: /-ˈnoʊk-/, Italian: [fiˈnɔkkjo]) is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base (sometimes called bulb fennel) that is used as a vegetable.
Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial herb. The stem is hollow, erect, and glaucous green, and it can grow up to 2.1 meters (7 feet) tall. The leaves grow up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about 0.5 millimeters (1⁄64 in) wide. Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner. The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels 5–17.5 cm (2–7 in) wide, each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The fruit is a dry schizocarp from 4–10 mm (3⁄16–3⁄8 in) long, half as wide or less, and grooved. Since the seed in the fruit is attached to the pericarp, the whole fruit is often mistakenly called "seed".
The word 'Fennel' came into Old English from Old French fenoil which in turn came from Latin faeniculum, a diminutive of faenum, meaning "hay". Indeed, it was the Romans who introduced fennel as a culinary herb into Britain.
Fennel has become naturalized along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, the United States, southern Canada, and much of Asia and Australia. It propagates well by both root crown and seed and is considered an invasive species and a weed in Australia and the U.S. It can drastically alter the composition and structure of many plant communities, including grasslands, coastal scrub, riparian, and wetland communities. It appears to do this by outcompeting native species for light, nutrients, and water and perhaps by exuding allelopathic substances that inhibit the growth of other plants.
The foliage, and fruit, roots and stems of the fennel plant are used in many of the culinary traditions of the world. The small flowers of wild fennel (known as fennel 'pollen') are the most potent form of fennel, but also the most expensive. Dried fennel fruit is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice, brown or green when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the fruit ages. For cooking, green fruits are optimal. The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to dill. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, roasted or eaten raw. Tender young leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavour to salads, to flavour sauces to be served with puddings, and in soups and fish sauce. Both the inflated leaf bases and the tender young shoots can be eaten like celery.
Fennel leaves are used in some parts of India as leafy green vegetables either by themselves or mixed with other vegetables, cooked to be served and consumed as part of a meal. In Syria and Lebanon, the young leaves are used to make a special kind of egg omelette (along with onions and flour) called ijjeh.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1999
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–12.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants, 2004
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland, 2011
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) — How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland, 2006
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles, 1983
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles, 1987
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms, 2006
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms, 2011
[12]. Bunker, F. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, Second Edition, 2017
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia II — A Source Book of Edible Plants, 1998
[14]. Hartford, R. Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of Britain and Ireland: A Foraging and Photographic Identification Guide
(Note that the above book links are Amazon Affiliate links)
The alphabetical list of all Fennel recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 266 recipes in total:
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| Achari Masala Origin: India | Bezar Spice Blend Origin: Bahrain | Chicken Kottu Roti Origin: Sri Lanka |
| Achari Roast Chicken Origin: Pakistan | Bezar Spice Blend Origin: UAE | Chicken Mappas Origin: India |
| Ak-Ni Korma Origin: India | BIR Chicken Chettinad Origin: Britain | Chicken White Curry Origin: Sri Lanka |
| Aliter carduos (Artichokes with Herbs) Origin: Roman | BIR Chicken Phaal Origin: Britain | Chinese Five Spice Origin: China |
| Aliter cucumeres (Cucumber with Fennel Seed) Origin: Roman | BIR Lamb Chettinad Origin: Britain | Chinese-style Barbecued Mackerel Origin: Fusion |
| Aliter Faseolus Sive Cicer (Broad Beans or Chickpeas, Another Way) Origin: Roman | Biryani Masala Origin: Pakistan | Chocnut Logs Origin: British |
| Aliter in Apro III (Wild Boar, Another Way III) Origin: Roman | Bis Riha (Maldives Egg Curry) Origin: Maldives | Christmas Island Crab Rendang Origin: Christmas Island |
| Aliter in Vitulina Elixa (Sauce for Boiled Veal, Another Way) Origin: Roman | Bizar Spice Blend Origin: Qatar | Clitocybe Odora Fritta (Fried, Breaded, Aniseed Toadstool) Origin: Italy |
| Aliter ius candidum in copadiis (White Sauce for Choice Cuts, Another Way) Origin: Roman | Black Curry Powder Origin: Sri Lanka | Coda di rospo con Barba di Frate (Monkfish with Monk's Beard Greens) Origin: Vatican City |
| Aliter Ius in Mullos Assos (Another Sauce for Baked Red Mullet) Origin: Roman | Bo-Kaap Kerrie (Cape Malay Curry) Origin: South Africa | Cold Bruet (Cold Brewet) Origin: England |
| Aliter tisanam (Barley Soup, Another Way) Origin: Roman | Bo-Kaap Kerrie Poeier (Cape Malay Curry Powder) Origin: South Africa | Compost Origin: England |
| Amchar Masala Origin: Trinidad | Bombay Egg and Potato Curry Origin: Anglo-Indian | Cornish Cod with Samphire Origin: Britain |
| Amchar Masala Origin: Trinidad | Bottle Masala Origin: India | Country Pork Terrine Origin: England |
| Anardana goli II Origin: India | Bouillabaisse with Rouille and Croutons Origin: France | Couscous de Timbuktu Origin: Mali |
| Andhra Kodi Kura (Andhra Chicken Curry) Origin: India | Bourride Origin: Britain | Creamy Chestnut Soup Origin: France |
| Anguillan Barbecue Sauce Origin: Anguilla | Brôn (Brawn) Origin: Welsh | Creamy Monkfish and Shellfish Potpie Origin: British |
| Antillean Barbecue Sauce Origin: Sint Maarten | Broudou bil Hout (Tunisian Fish Soup) Origin: Tunisia | Crocodile Sandakkan Origin: Malaysia |
| Antillean Barbecue Sauce Origin: Guadeloupe | Brown Shrimp Soup with Crisp Sesame Croûtons Origin: British | Curry Mouan (Chicken Curry) Origin: Cambodia |
| Antillean Barbecue Sauce Origin: Martinique | c (Kazakh Tea) Origin: Kazakhstan | Durban Cornish Hen Curry Origin: South Africa |
| Antillean Barbecue Sauce Origin: Saint-Martin | Cambaabur Origin: Djibouti | Durban Fish Masala Origin: South Africa |
| Antillean Barbecue Sauce Origin: Saint Barthelemy | Cambaabur Origin: Somalia | Durban Leaf Masala Origin: South Africa |
| Aper ita conditur (Seasoned Wild Boar) Origin: Roman | Camel Braise with Grilled Date Glace Origin: Fusion | Durban Vegetable Curry Origin: South Africa |
| Arni Gemisto me Horta ke Feta (Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Greens and Feta) Origin: Greece | Camel Nihari Origin: Pakistan | Egg Pilau Origin: India |
| Assam Fish Curry Origin: Malaysia | Cape Curry Powder Origin: South Africa | Eight-day Spiced Beef Origin: British |
| Ayam Panggang Origin: Christmas Island | Cape Malay Seafood Curry Origin: South Africa | English Sack Origin: England |
| Bột Cary (Vietnamese Curry Powder) Origin: Vietnam | Cari Poisson (Mauritian Fish Curry) Origin: Mauritius | Eog (neu Wyniedyn) Agerog (Steamed Salmon (or Sewin)) Origin: Welsh |
| Bakeapple Chicken Curry Origin: Canada | Carnes Vaccinae (Byzantine Beef Stew) Origin: Roman | Eowtes of Flessh (Herbs Like Flesh) Origin: England |
| Baked Brown Trout Origin: Scotland | Cavolo Agra (Cabbage with Bacon and Fennel Seeds) Origin: Italy | Epityrum (Olives with Herbs) Origin: Roman |
| Bambukeyo Bongara (Maldives Breadfruit Curry) Origin: Maldives | Cayman Curry Powder Origin: Cayman Islands | Erbolat Origin: England |
| Banana leaf mackerel Origin: Sri Lanka | Chaat Masala Origin: India | Fänkålssoppa med strimlad lax (Fennel Soup with Smoked Salmon Shreds) Origin: Sweden |
| Bara Pot Clai Bacheldre (Bacheldre Clay-pot Bread) Origin: Welsh | Chaat Masala Indian Spice Blend Origin: India | Fenkel in Soppes (Fennel in Sauce) Origin: England |
| Bashi Hiki Riha (Maldives Aubergine Curry) Origin: Maldives | Chettinad Fish Fry Origin: India | Fennel and Walnut Soup Origin: British |
| Bedmi Aloo Origin: India | Chevra Origin: South Africa | |
| Bermuda Curry Powder Origin: Bermuda | Chicken Chettinad Origin: India |
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