What makes fennel special? Ahh, it’s the taste! With its understated yet distinct flavor, and treasured texture, fennel is one of the underrated gems of the vegetable world. But what does fennel taste like? Find out in this ultimate guide of everything you need to know, including how to use fennel, great ideas and recipes.
What does fennel taste like?
Fennel has a refreshing taste with a very mild, yet distinct anise or licorice flavor with a hint of sweetness, and a crisp and crunchy texture. When cooked, fennel is even milder in taste, with a mellow sweetness and soft texture.
Fennel Fundamentals
Fennel is an incredible edible plant of many virtues: its bulb is considered a vegetable, its feathery fronds are used as an herb and garnish, and its seeds are used as a spice.
Of Apiaceae ancestry, fennel’s relatives include anise, dill, coriander (cilantro), parsley, cumin, celery and carrots, to name a few of its very large family.
Fennel bulb is a vegetable with layers of plump crisp bulb leaves, celery-like stalks and feathery fronds that look like dill. Cultivated in the Mediterranean since the 15th century, it is sometimes called Florence fennel (and sometimes labeled as anise at the market).
What do marathons have to do with fennel?
Fennel vs Anise
No, although fennel bulbs are sometimes labeled as anise in American grocery stores, anise is actually a misnomer. The two are related and have a similar aroma, but anise doesn’t have the big bulb that fennel does, and has different shaped leaves. If you see a big bulb with the feathery fronds in the market, it’s fennel, and what you’re looking for, even if labeled as anise.
Anise also has slightly sweeter, milder tasting seeds than fennel, which is why fennel seeds are used more in savory dishes and anise seeds are used more in sweets.
Did you know? Fennel and anise, used for their anethole — a sweet natural compound responsible for the familiar aroma and taste of anise or liquorice — are contributing flavors to the popular Provencal pastime drink: pastis, and are two of the three main ingredients in the liquor absinthe. The botanicals are also popular in Sambuca, Ouzo, Raki and other favorite liqueurs around the Mediterranean.
What Part do You Eat?
All parts of fennel are edible. The prized parts are the bulb, fronds, and seeds. Fabulous plump fennel bulbs have thick crisp layers and are wonderful to eat both raw and cooked. The stalks are edible too, although rather fibrous. Feathery fennel fronds are great as an anise flavored herb or garnish like dill. Fennel seeds are considered a spice and used for their anise or licorice taste.
Fennel Season
Fennel is a cool weather crop. Although available all year round, fennel’s high season is during the colder months. The best time to buy fennel is late Fall through Spring.
What to Look for at the Market
Don’t worry about size as a quality measure, as long as the fennel is firm and fresh. Choose smooth, plump fennel bulbs that feel heavy for their size, with fresh green feathery fronds. Avoid shriveled, lightweight or badly bruised fennel.
You may notice that some fennel bulbs are more elongated. These are sometimes called the female bulbs. And some are more round and plump — we call these the males. Both shapes of fennel are good, however you may like the plump (male) bulbs to munch on raw, as they are less fibrous and thus more crunchy.
Storage
Fennel can keep well in the refrigerator for weeks, so it’s easy to keep on hand. While you can freeze fennel, I don’t recommend it, as it changes its texture.
How to Use Fennel
Here are some ideas on how to enjoy the taste of fennel: bulbs, fronds and seeds.
As a Side Dish
Fennel makes a great side dish, particularly with seafood, or as a light counterpoint to meat dishes.
Thickly sliced raw fennel makes the easiest side dish in the world. My favorite way to cook fennel is caramelizing it. Especially to serve with roasted branzino or grilled orata (sea bream) fish.
In Stews, Soups and Salads
Fennel’s taste is beautiful in meat stews, imparting a subtle sweetness. I often add it in addition to or in place of celery.
Or try one of my favorites: fennel and pumpkin (or squash) pair beautifully in a cozy and nourishing Pumpkin Soup.
Thinly sliced fennel bulb, and its feathery fronds, are great in any salad.
As a Snack
Fennel’s crunchy texture makes it a perfect finger-food when cut into slices or wedgeges. In fact, fennel is so crisp and perfect to munch on, it can be hard to stop. My advice is to resist while you are preparing it for cooking, unless you have an extra one to replace it with!
Tired of munching on celery sticks? Crisp fresh fabulously crunchy fennel to the rescue! Slice it into thick strips or wedges.
As a Substitute for Celery
Fennel bulb is the absolute best substitute for celery, whether raw or cooked. It’s crisp, crunchy and refreshing, less stringy, and has none of the bitter taste you sometimes get with celery. It can be used pretty much anywhere celery is used. (Note: it’s the fennel bulb we’re after — not the fibrous celery-like stalks on the fennel.)
Best Substitute for Fennel Bulb
Just as fennel bulb is the best substitute for celery, both raw or cooked, celery is the best substitute for fennel bulb. If you need to substitute it, yet would like to mimic the aroma and taste of fennel, you can add to the celery a spoon of fennel seeds — or a splash of Ouzo, Pernod or Ricard Pastis, Sambuca, Arak, Raki or any other anise flavored liquor.
What to Do with Fennel Fronds
Fennel’s feathery dill-like fronds, also called fennel tops or fennel leaves, are delightful when fresh. Here are some great fennel frond uses.
Marinades & Sauces
Fennel fronds can be used in marinades or sauces for fish, pork and other meats or vegetables. I love to add fennel fronds to tzatziki Greek yogurt sauce with cucumbers, homemade aioli and mayonnaise.
As Garnish
A sprinkle of chopped fennel fronds beautifies just about anything. I sprinkle it on soups, salads, oranges, olive oil drenched crostini, seafood, meats, you name it!
Ideas for Enjoying Fennel Seeds
Although fennel seeds are bought separately (unless you pick your own in late summer), they are a great compliment to dishes with fennel bulb. Or use them in pork or lamb marinades. Add them to the skillet for stovetop cooked filet mignon or pork chops. They’re also good cooked with savory vegetable dishes.
Or make tea. (To make fennel tea: just steep a teaspoon of fennel seeds in hot water for about 5 minutes). Fennel seeds can also be used as a breath freshener at the end of a meal.
A True Mediterranean Native
Fennel, with its subtle yet intoxicating aroma of anise, is one of the most common vegetables in the Mediterranean, and has been part of the Mediterranean diet for thousands of years.
Though only cultivated since the 1500’s, wild fennel made its name way before then, with the Greeks and Romans attributing to it a great deal of nutritional and medicinal qualities. Thousands of years later, it’s not uncommon to see people in the Mediterranean countryside picking their share of wild fennel to add to soups or pasta, cut up in salads or to garnish fish and meats.
What do marathons have to do with fennel?
Going way back to around 500BC Greece, a battle took place against the Persians on a plain full of wild fennel, called marathon in Greek. So why do we call our long races marathons? One legend is that a messenger, perhaps by the name of Pheidippides, ran what we call a 42K (about 26 miles — what time he clocked we’ll never know) to Athens to spread the victorious news.
A slightly different version goes that he ran a long way to make sure Athens got the story straight of who won, which was told in his last breath before perishing.
Ok, it’s a little bit of a he says-he says story: Herodotus’ version goes that the messenger was Philippides, and ran not from Marathon to Athens, but from Athens to Sparta and back, to get help for the battle — in the fennel field.
Above photo: A great haul from our friend’s orto (garden) by the sea on the Italian island of Sardinia. The wild fennel (top-right) grows among the orange, lemon and citron (center-left) trees, next to the lettuces, along the fence next to the rosemary (front-center), among the wild rucola (top-left) — everywhere!
Fennel Recipes
- How to Cut Fennel
- Caramelized Fennel
- Pumpkin Soup with Fennel
