Ancient Britons used it to protect against evil, it, er, repels fleas, and makes a welcome addition to myriad dishes from stews to salads...
A bit about fennel
If you don't like the taste of aniseed or liquorice, then you've probably spurned this plant with its bright white, bulbous herb (which is actually a cluster of tight, overlapping leaf stems) and pungent seeds. It's peppy flavour and stimulating aroma doesn't appeal to all.
But it appeals to many – people have used fennel in cooking and medicine for centuries: in the Middle East, and the Indian and Chinese subcontinents, it's an essential ingredient in indigenous cuisines, whereas its curative properties and beauty benefits know no bounds, from wind-relief to flea-repelling to mouth-freshening.
Nutritional content and health benefits
Low in cholesterol, a good source of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium and an excellent source of vitamin C, fennel also contains anethole, which relaxes the intestine. This makes it an ideal herb – when eaten as part of your diet or in tea – to consume to relieve the symptoms of IBS, stomach cramps and flatulence, and is often a component of gripe water for babies. It's also a diuretic, regularly seen in natural diet aids, the seeds flavour natural toothpaste, oh, and fleas hate it – throw a little fennel powder on animal bedding to deter pesky pests.
Indeed, in the 1st century A.D. Pliny believed fennel had 22 healing attributes, and it features in herbal medicines from the ancient times to the present day.
Cooking
Dried fennel seeds are commonly used as a spice; they have an aniseed taste and are used in Indian cooking, in Chinese Five Spice, and Mediterranean fish dishes.
The leaves are delicate and spidery, like those of the dill plant, and can be eaten. The bulb is wonderfully crunchy, very versatile and can be grilled, sauteed, stewed and eaten raw. Grated, it adds a lively dimension to salads – a method popular in German and Italian dishes. Alternatively, throw it into a risotto or stew, or marinate it and serve as a side dish.
Fennel facts
- India is the top producer
- It was one of nine herbs held sacred by the Anglo-Saxons
- It was used with St John's wort to protect against evil
- It's one of the main ingredients in the noxious spirit absinthe
- The word fennel derived from the Latin word for 'hay'.