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Fennel

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This article is about the plant Foeniculum vulgare. For other uses, see Fennel (disambiguation).
"Finocchio" redirects here. For other uses, see Finocchio (disambiguation).

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a flowering plant species in the carrot family.[1][2] It is a hardy, perennial herb[3] with yellow flowers and feathery leaves.[4] 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.

Fennel
Fennel in flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Foeniculum
Species:
F. vulgare
Binomial name
Foeniculum vulgare
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Anethum dulce DC.
  • Anethum foeniculum L.
  • Anethum minus Gouan
  • Anethum panmori Roxb.
  • Anethum panmorium Roxb. ex Fleming
  • Anethum piperitum Ucria
  • Anethum rupestre Salisb.
  • Foeniculum azoricum Mill.
  • Foeniculum capillaceum Gilib.
  • Foeniculum divaricatum Griseb.
  • Foeniculum dulce Mill.
  • Foeniculum foeniculum (L.) H.Karst.
  • Foeniculum giganteum Lojac.
  • Foeniculum officinale All.
  • Foeniculum panmorium (Roxb.) DC.
  • Foeniculum piperitum C.Presl
  • Foeniculum rigidum Brot. ex Steud.
  • Ligusticum foeniculum (L.) Roth
  • Ligusticum foeniculum (L.) Crantz
  • Meum foeniculum (L.) Spreng.
  • Meum piperitum Schult.
  • Ozodia foeniculacea Wight & Arn.
  • Selinum foeniculum E.H.L.Krause
  • Seseli dulce Koso-Pol.
  • Seseli foeniculum Koso-Pol.
  • Seseli piperitum Koso-Pol.
  • Tenoria romana Schkuhr ex Spreng.
This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

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 that is used as a vegetable.

Description

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Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial herb. The stem is hollow, erect, and glaucous green, and it can grow up to 2.5 metres (8 feet) tall. The leaves grow up to 40 centimetres (16 inches) long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about 0.5 millimetres (1⁄64 in) wide. Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner.[5]

The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels 5–17.5 cm (2–7 in) wide,[5] 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.[6] Since the seed in the fruit is attached to the pericarp, the whole fruit is often mistakenly called "seed".[citation needed]

Chemistry

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The aromatic character of fennel fruits derives from volatile oils imparting mixed aromas, including trans-anethole and estragole (resembling liquorice), fenchone (mint and camphor), limonene,[7] 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom).[8] Other phytochemicals found in fennel fruits include polyphenols, such as rosmarinic acid and luteolin, among others in minor content.[9]

Similar species

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Some plants in the Apiaceae family are poisonous and often difficult to identify.

Dill, coriander, ajwain, and caraway are similar-looking herbs but shorter-growing than fennel, reaching only 40–60 cm (16–24 in). Dill has thread-like, feathery leaves and yellow flowers; coriander and caraway have white flowers and finely divided leaves (though not as fine as dill or fennel) and are also shorter-lived (being annual or biennial plants). The superficial similarity in appearance between these seeds may have led to a sharing of names and etymology, as in the case of meridian fennel, a term for caraway.

Giant fennel (Ferula communis) is a large, coarse plant with a pungent aroma, which grows wild in the Mediterranean region and is only occasionally grown in gardens elsewhere. Other species of the genus Ferula are also called giant fennel, but they are not culinary herbs.

In North America, fennel may be found growing in the same habitat and alongside natives osha (Ligusticum porteri) and Lomatium species, useful medicinal relatives in the parsley family.

Most Lomatium species have yellow flowers like fennel, but some[which?] are white-flowered and resemble poison hemlock. Lomatium is an important historical food plant of Native Americans known as 'biscuit root'. Most Lomatium spp. have finely divided, hairlike leaves; their roots have a delicate rice-like odor, unlike the musty odor of hemlock. Lomatium species prefer dry, rocky soils devoid of organic material.

Etymology

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Fennel came into Old English from Old French fenoil which in turn came from Latin faeniculum, a diminutive of faenum, meaning "hay".

Cultivation

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Fennel for sale in a French market

Fennel is widely cultivated, both in its native range and elsewhere, for its edible, strongly flavored leaves and fruits. Its aniseed or liquorice flavor[10] comes from anethole, an aromatic compound also found in anise and star anise, and its taste and aroma are similar to theirs, though usually not as strong.[11]

Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Azoricum Group; syn. F. vulgare var. azoricum) is a cultivar group with inflated leaf bases which form a bulb-like structure. It is of cultivated origin,[12] and has a mild anise-like flavor but is sweeter and more aromatic. Florence fennel plants are smaller than the wild type.[13] Several cultivars of Florence fennel are also known by several other names, notably the Italian name finocchio. In North American supermarkets, it is often mislabeled as "anise."[14][15]

Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum' or 'Nigra', "bronze-leaved" fennel, is widely available as a decorative garden plant.[16]

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[17] and the United States. 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.[18] In western North America, fennel can be found from the coastal and inland wildland-urban interface east into hill and mountain areas, excluding desert habitats.[19][20] On Santa Cruz Island, California for example, fennel has achieved 50 to 90% absolute cover.[18]

Production

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As grouped by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, production data for fennel are combined with similar spices – anise, star anise, and coriander.[21] In 2014, India produced 60% of the world output of fennel, with China and Bulgaria as leading secondary producers.

Production of fennel – 2014
Country Production
(tonnes)
  India 584,000
  China 48,002
  Bulgaria 36,500
  Iran 32,771
  Mexico 29,251
  Syria 27,668
World 970,404
Data combined with related spices – anise, star anise & coriander. Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations[21]

Uses

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Fennel was prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, who used it as medicine, food, and insect repellent. Fennel tea was believed to give courage to the warriors before battle. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus used a giant stalk of fennel to carry fire from Mount Olympus to Earth. Emperor Charlemagne required the cultivation of fennel on all imperial farms.[22]

Florence fennel is one of the three main herbs used in the preparation of absinthe, an alcoholic mixture which originated as a medicinal elixir in Europe and became, by the late 19th century, a popular alcoholic drink in France and other countries.[23] Fennel fruit is a common and traditional spice in flavored Scandinavian brännvin (a loosely defined group of distilled spirits, which include akvavit).[24][25] Fennel is also featured in the Chinese Materia Medica for its medicinal functions.[26]

A 2016 study found F. vulgare essential oil to have insecticidal properties.[27]

Nutrition

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Fennel seeds
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy1,443 kJ (345 kcal)
52 g
Dietary fiber40 g
14.9 g
Saturated0.5 g
Monounsaturated9.9 g
Polyunsaturated1.7 g
15.8 g
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Thiamine (B1)
34%
0.41 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
27%
0.35 mg
Niacin (B3)
38%
6.1 mg
Vitamin B6
28%
0.47 mg
Vitamin C
23%
21 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
92%
1196 mg
Iron
103%
18.5 mg
Magnesium
92%
385 mg
Manganese
283%
6.5 mg
Phosphorus
39%
487 mg
Potassium
56%
1694 mg
Sodium
4%
88 mg
Zinc
36%
4 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water8.8 g
Link to Full USDA Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[28] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[29]

A raw fennel bulb is 90% water, 1% protein, 7% carbohydrates, and contains negligible fat.[30]

Dried fennel seeds are typically used as a spice in minute quantities. A reference amount of 100 grams (3.5 oz) of fennel seeds provides 1,440 kilojoules (345 kilocalories) of food energy and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and several dietary minerals, especially calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese, all of which exceed 90% DV. Fennel seeds are 52% carbohydrates (including 40% dietary fiber), 15% fat, 16% protein, and 9% water.

Cuisine

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The bulb, foliage, and fruits 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")[31] are the most potent form of fennel, but also the most expensive.[32] 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.[11] The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to dill. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw. Tender young leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavor to salads, to flavor sauces to be served with puddings, and in soups and fish sauce.[33] Both the inflated leaf bases and the tender young shoots can be eaten like celery.[10]

Fennel fruits are sometimes confused with those of anise, which are similar in taste and appearance, though smaller. Fennel is also a flavoring in some natural toothpastes. The fruits are used in cookery and sweet desserts.[33]

Many cultures in India, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Middle East use fennel fruits in cooking. In Iraq, fennel seeds are used as an ingredient in nigella-flavored breads.[34] It is one of the most important spices in Kashmiri cuisine and Gujarati cooking.[35] In Indian cuisine, whole fennel seeds and fennel powder are used as a spice in various sweet and savory dishes. It is an essential ingredient in the Assamese/Bengali/Oriya spice mixture panch phoron[36] and in Chinese five-spice powders. In many parts of India, roasted fennel fruits are consumed as mukhwas, an after-meal digestive and breath freshener (saunf), or candied as comfit. Fennel seeds are also often used as an ingredient in paan, a breath freshener most popularly consumed in India.[34] In China, fennel stem and leaves are often ingredients in the stuffings of jiaozi, baozi, or pies, as well in cold dishes as a green vegetable. Fennel fruits are present in well-known mixed spices such as the five-spice powder or thirteen-spice powder [zh].

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.

Many egg, fish, and other dishes employ fresh or dried fennel leaves. Florence fennel is a key ingredient in some Italian salads, or it can be braised and served as a warm side dish. It may be blanched or marinated, or cooked in risotto.

Fennel fruits are the primary flavor component in Italian sausage. In Spain, the stems of the fennel plant are used in the preparation of pickled eggplants, berenjenas de Almagro. A herbal tea or tisane can also be made from fennel.

On account of its aromatic properties, fennel fruit forms one of the ingredients of the well-known compound liquorice powder. In the Indian subcontinent, fennel fruits are eaten raw, sometimes with a sweetener.

  •  
    Sugar-coated and uncoated fennel fruits used as a breath freshener
  •  
    Indian mukhwas (breath freshener) made of fennel seeds and rock sugar
  •  
    French cooked fennel stuffed with cod and dill cream
  •  
    Chinese bing with fennel filling

Culture

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The Greek name for fennel is marathon (μάραθον) or marathos (μάραθος),[37] and the place of the famous battle of Marathon literally means a plain with fennel.[38] The word is first attested in Mycenaean Linear B form as ma-ra-tu-wo.[39] In Hesiod's Theogony, Prometheus steals the ember of fire from the gods in a hollow fennel stalk.[40]

As Old English finule, fennel is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in the 10th century.[41]

In the 15th century, Portuguese settlers on Madeira noticed the abundance of wild fennel and used the Portuguese word funcho (fennel) and the suffix -al to form the name of a new town, Funchal.[42]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1842 poem "The Goblet of Life" repeatedly refers to the plant and mentions its purported ability to strengthen eyesight:

Above the lower plants, it towers,
The Fennel with its yellow flowers;
And in an earlier age than ours
Was gifted with the wondrous powers
Lost vision to restore.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Foeniculum vulgare Mill". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Classification for Kingdom Plantae Down to Genus Foeniculum Mill.". US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Plant Characteristics and Associations. Foeniculum vulgare". Calflora.org. Calflora. 1 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Plant Finder. Foeniculum vulgare". Missouribotanicalgarden.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b Spellenberg, Richard (2001) [1979]. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region (rev ed.). Knopf. pp. 339–340. ISBN 978-0-375-40233-3.
  6. ^ Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
  7. ^ Badgujar, Shamkant B.; Patel, Vainav V.; Bandivdekar, Atmaram H. (2014). "Foeniculum vulgareMill: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Contemporary Application, and Toxicology". BioMed Research International. 2014: 842674. doi:10.1155/2014/842674. ISSN 2314-6133. PMC 4137549. PMID 25162032.
  8. ^ Díaz-Maroto, M. C; Díaz-Maroto Hidalgo, I. J; Sánchez-Palomo, E; Pérez-Coello, M. S (2005). "Volatile components and key odorants of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) oil extracts obtained by simultaneous distillation-extraction and supercritical fluid extraction". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 53 (13): 5385–9. doi:10.1021/jf050340+. PMID 15969523.
  9. ^ Uusitalo, L; Salmenhaara, M; Isoniemi, M; Garcia-Alvarez, A; Serra-Majem, L; Ribas-Barba, L; Finglas, P; Plumb, J; Tuominen, P; Savela, K (2016). "Intake of selected bioactive compounds from plant food supplements containing fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) among Finnish consumers". Food Chemistry. 194: 619–25. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.08.057. PMID 26471600.
  10. ^ a b Nyerges, Christopher (2016). Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-4930-1499-6.
  11. ^ a b Katzer's Spice Pages: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) Archived 15 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Foeniculum vulgare". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Green Fennel Seeds". Regencyspices.hk. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  14. ^ Rombauer, Irma (1997). Joy of Cooking. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. p. 375. ISBN 978-0-684-81870-2.
  15. ^ Ziedrich, Linda. The Joy of Pickling.
  16. ^ RHS Plant Finder 2008–2009, Dorling Kindersley, 2008, p280
  17. ^ "Species: Foeniculum vulgare (Aniseed)". Bie.ala.org.au. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  18. ^ a b "IPCW Plant Report". California Invasive Plant Council. 16 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map". Bonap.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Foeniculum vulgare Calflora". Calflora.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Production in 2014, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity (pick lists)". UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT). 2017. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  22. ^ Ken Adams; Dan Drost. "Fennel in the Garden". Digitalcommons.usu.edu. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Fennel (Marathos)". Polisherbgarden.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Aalborg Taffel Akvavit". Diffordsguide.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Aquavit: this winter's hottest spirit". The Daily Telegraph. 8 November 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Making Chinese Medicine Series 03: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)". Purplecloudinstitute.com. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  27. ^ Ribeiro-Santos, Regiane; Andrade, Mariana; Sanches-Silva, Ana; de Melo, Nathália Ramos (2017). "Essential Oils for Food Application: Natural Substances with Established Biological Activities". Food and Bioprocess Technology. 11 (1). Springer Science+Business Media: 43–71. doi:10.1007/s11947-017-1948-6. ISSN 1935-5130. S2CID 103935770.
  28. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  29. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Fennel bulb, raw per 100 g". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  31. ^ "gourmet-organic-fennel-pollen". kandarian-organic-farms. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  32. ^ "Fennel Pollen: Culinary Fairy Dust". The Wall Street Journal. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  33. ^ a b M. G. Kains (1912). American Agriculturist (ed.). Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation Harvesting Curing and Uses. Orange Judd Company. Archived from the original (English) on 13 April 2017.
  34. ^ a b Lakshmi, Padma (2016). The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World. HarperCollins. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-06-237523-0.
  35. ^ "What is Fennel Seeds, Saunf? Glossary | Uses, Benefits, Recipes". Tarladalal.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  36. ^ Deepika Sahu (10 May 2012). "The power of five seeds". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012.
  37. ^ μάραθον. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  38. ^ Μαραθών in Liddell and Scott.
  39. ^ On tablets MY Ge 602, MY Ge 606 + fr., MY Ge 605 + 607 + frr. + 60Sa + 605b. "The Linear B word transliterated as ma-ra-tu-wo". Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of Ancient languages. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2014. Raymoure, K.A. "ma-ra-tu-wo". Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B. Deaditerranean. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2014. "MY 602 Ge (57)". Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014. "MY 606 Ge + fr. (57)". Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2014. "MY 605 Ge + 607 + fr. [+] 60Sa + fr. [+] 605b + frr. (57)". DĀMOS: Database of Mycenaean at Oslo. University of Oslo. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  40. ^ Hesiod. "Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica". Project Gutenberg. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  41. ^ "Old English Plant Names". Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  42. ^ Frutuoso, G.; de Azevedo, A.R. (1873), As Saudades da terra (in Portuguese), Typ. funchalense, p. 39
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