Fennel
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a highly aromatic Mediterranean plant from the carrot family, Apiaceae. It exists both as a cultivated plant and in the wild, distributed around the world in temperate regions.
Fennel grows can be grown throughout the Pacific Northwest but grows especially well in the Northwest Coast and Northern California, where it has naturalized. Fennel has an anise-like flavor and is useful in cooking as a spice, vegetable, and herb.
Fennel varieties can be divided into herb fennel and bulb fennel. Herb fennel grows into a tall, bushy herbaceous plant, up to six feet tall. Bulb fennel varieties were selected for their stems, which are eaten as a vegetable.
Species and varieties
Fennels
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Herb fennels
Sweet fennel varieties
Bitter fennel varieties
Bulb fennels
‘Florence’
Herb fennel
Herb fennel is mostly used as a flavoring, either as a spice or an herb, and can be either sweet or bitter varieties.
The fennel seed that most of us are accustomed to cooking with is from sweet fennel (F. vulgare var. dulce), which has a strong anise or licorice-like flavor. Bitter fennel varieties (F. vulgare var. vulgare) are selected for their seeds, which are more similar to dill or celery seeds. Bitter fennel is more common in Central and Eastern Europe.
Fennel has naturalized throughout the US and is especially common in coastal California, Oregon, and Washington; it’s considered invasive in California. Wild fennel is an herb fennel that varies in flavor depending on the plant, some are sweeter than others. It’s often found off the side of the road and in disturbed areas, but I would caution against eating anything sourced too close to busy roads.
Cooking with herb fennel
The dried seeds are used as a spice. Sweet fennel seeds are a component of many spice mixes around the world, including Chinese five-spice and panch phoron of eastern India. It’s also a key ingredient in the Swiss spirit absinthe.
The green, immature seeds are good to eat. They taste more strongly sweet than dried fennel seeds. You can preserve them by pickling or candying them.
Herb fennel is a short-lived perennial plant. It dies back with cold weather but returns in late winter or early spring. The immature shoots make a tasty vegetable. The fronds appear soon after and can be used as an herb or garnish.
The flowers themselves make a nice garnish. Pollen can be collected from the flowers and used as a spice. It can be found for sale but commands a high price. It takes a lot of pollen to fill a small jar.
The hollow stems can be used to flavor preparations or dried and burned to flavor grilled meats.
Bulb fennel
Bulb fennel (F. vulgare var. azoricum) is a type of sweet fennel that is cultivated for a swollen lower stem which is eaten as a vegetable, both raw and cooked.
‘Florence’ is one of the more common and better-known varieties. Fennel can bolt and flower in response to dry conditions, so regular water is important to get fennel to produce a bulb.
Bulb fennel is a biennial, but is grown as an annual and harvested in mid to late summer. It can also be planted for a harvest in fall. The seeds, fronds, flowers, and stems have similar uses to those from herb fennel, but herb fennel produces these things in greater amounts. If you want the seeds and flowers, you’ll sacrifice the bulb.
