Spice Pages: Fennel Seeds (Foeniculum vulgare)

Synonyms

pharmaceutical	Fructus Foeniculi
Albanian	Maraja, Marac, Kopër
Arabic	شمار, شمر, شمرا, شومر, رازيانج
شومَر, شَمَار, شَمْا
Shamaar, Shamar, Shamraa, Shoumar, Shumar, Razianaj
Aramaic	ܒܪ ܓܢܬ݂ܐ, ܣܡܪ, ܨܘܢܕ, ܫܡܪ, ܩܠܚܠܚ
Bar gantha, Smar, Sund, Shumar, Qlahlah
Armenian	Սամիթ
Samit
Assamese	চঁফ্, গুৱামৰি, মৌৰি
Somph, Guvamauri, Mauri
Azeri	Razyana
Разјана
Basque	Mehul, Mieloi, Miur belar
Belarusian	Фенхель
Fenkheĺ
Bengali	মৌরি
Mouri, Mauri
Bodo	सोब
Sob
Breton	Fanouilh
Bulgarian	Резене, Морач
Rezene, Morach
Burmese	Samong-saba
Catalan	Fonoll, Fonollera, Herba de les vinyes
Chakma	𑄟𑄨𑄙𑄬 𑄎𑄨𑄢
Midhe Jira
Chinese (Cantonese)	茴香 [wùih hēung], 甜茴香 [tìhm wùih hēung], 小茴香 [síu wùih hēung]
Wuih heung, Wooi heung, Tihm wuih heung, Siu wuih heung
Chinese (Mandarin)	茴香 [huí xiāng], 甜茴香 [tián huí xiāng], 小茴香 [xiǎo huí xiāng]
Hui xiang, Tian hui xiang, Xiao hui xiang
Coptic	ⲁⲛⲉⲟⲩⲙⲟⲣ, ⲙⲁⲗⲁⲧⲣⲟⲛ
Aneumur, Malatron
Croatian	Koromač, Komorač
Czech	Fenykl, Fenýkl obecný, Vlašský kopr, Sladký kopr, Římský kopr
Danish	Fennikel
Dhivehi	ދަވިއްގަނދަ
Dhaviggan'dhu
Dogri	सोंफ
Somph
Dutch	Venkel
English	Sweet cumin
Esperanto	Fenkolo
Estonian	Harilik apteegitill, Apteegitilliseemned, Venkel
Farsi	رازیانه
Razianeh
Finnish	Fenkoli
French	Fenouil, Aneth doux
Gaelic	Lus an t’saiodh
Galician	Fiuncho
Georgian	კამა
K’ama, Kama
German	Fenchel
Greek	Φινόκιο, Μάραθο
Finokio, Maratho
Greek (Old)	Μάραθον
Marathon
Gujarati	વરિયાળી
Variyali
Hebrew	שומר, שמר
שׁוּמָר, שֻׁמָּר
Shumar
Hindi	बड़ी सौंफ़, मोटी सौंफ़, सौंफ़, सौंफ
Badi saunf, Bari saunf, Moti saunf, Saunf, Saumph
Hungarian	Édeskömény
Icelandic	Fennika
Indonesian	Jinten manis, Adas
Irish	Fineál
Italian	Finocchio
Japanese	茴香
ういきょう
ウイキョウ, フェンネル
Uikyō, Uikyo, Fenneru
Kannada	ಬಡೇಸೋಪು, ಬಡಾಸೋಂಪು, ದೊಡ್ಡ ಜೀರಿಗೆ
Badesopu, Badasompu, Dodde jirige
Kashmiri	بادین
Badian
Kazakh	Волош аскөгі
Boloş askögi
Korean	회향, 회향풀, 펜넬, 소회향
Hoehyang, Hoehyang-pul, Pennel, So-hoehyang
Lao	ຜັກຊີນ້ອຍ
Pak si noi
Latin	Finiculum, Foeniculum
Latvian	Fenheļi parastie, Fenhelis
Lithuanian	Pačiolis, Paprastasis pankolis
Macedonian	Разијан
Razijan
Maithili	सोंप
Saumph
Malay	Jintan manis, Adas, Adas pedas
Malayalam	പെരുഞ്ജീരകം, പെരുജീരകം, പെരും ജീരകം
Perumjeerakam, Perujirakam, Perum jirakam
Maltese	Bużbież
Manipuri (Meitei-Lon)	হোপ
ꯍꯣꯞ
Hop
Marathi	बडीशेप
Badishep, Shoap
Mongolian	Ногоон гоньд, Амтат гоньд
Nogoon gon’d, Amtat gon’d
Nepali	सम्फु, सोफ, मिठ्ठा सोफ, मदेसी सौफ
Samphu, Sof, Mitta sof, Madesi sauph
Newari (Nepalbhasa)	मिट्टा सोफ, मधु स्वाँ, सोफ
Mitta sof, Madhu svang, Sof
Norwegian	Fennikel
Oriya	ପାନମଧୁରୀ, ମଧୁରୀ
Pan modhuri, Modhuri
Polish	Fenkuł, Koper włoski
Portuguese	Funcho
Provençal	Fenoun
Punjabi	ਸੌਂਫ
Saunph
Romanian	Anason dulce, Fenicul, Molură, Chimion dulce, Mărar dulce
Russian	Аптечный укроп, Фенхель, Сладкий укроп, Укроп сладкий
Aptechnyj ukrop, Fenkhel, Sladkij ukrop, Ukrop sladki
Sanskrit	Madhurika, Shatpushpa
Santali	Panmuhri, Muhri
Serbian	Коморач, Дивља мирођија, Морач
Komorač, Divlja mirođija, Morač
Sinhala	මාදුරු, මහදුරු
Maduru, Mahaduru
Slovak	Fenikel obyčajný, Fenikel
Slovenian	Sladki komarček
Spanish	Hinojo
Swahili	Shamari
Swedish	Fänkål
Tagalog	Anis, Haras
Tamil	சோகிக்கிரை, பெருஞ்சீரகம், சோம்பு, சோம்பு
Perunjiragam, Sohikirai, Sombu
Telugu	పెద్ద జిలకర్ర, సోపు, సోంపు
Pedda jilakarra, Sopu, Sompu
Thai	เฟนเนล, เทียนข้าวเปลือก, ยี่หร่า, ผักชีล้อม
Fennel, Thian-khauplueak, Mellet karee, Phong karee, Pak chi duanha, Pak chi long, Thian-klaep, Yira
Tigrinya	ፌኔል
Fenel
Tulu	ಮಲ್ಲಜೀರಿಗೆ
Mallajirige
Turkish	Rezene, İrziyan, Arapsaçı, Bahçe rezenesi, Mayana, Raziyane
Ukrainian	Фенхель звичайний
Fenkhel zvychajniy
Urdu	سونف, سوںف
Sonf
Uzbek	Fenxel, Dorixona ukrop
Фенхел, Дорихона укроп
Vietnamese	Cây thì là, Hồi hương, Tiêu hồi hương, Thì là trung á
Cay thi la, Hoi huong, Tieu hoi huong, Thi la trung a
Welsh	Ffenigl
Yiddish	פֿענכל, קימלגראָז, איטאַליענישער קאָפּער
Fenkhl, Kimlgroz, Italienisher koper

Fennel umbels

Note

In large parts of Asia, fennel and anise given the same name (see below).

Dried fennel fruits (often called seeds)

Used plant part

Fruits (usually mistermed seeds) . Other than most of their relatives, they retain a green colour after drying. As a rule of thumb, a bright green colour indicates a good quality.

In Italy, there is also small-scale usage of fennel pollen as an expensive and rather extravagant spice. Also known as Spice of the Angels, fennel pollen is also produced in California as a small-scale exotic crop.

The leaves and stalks of fennel can be eaten as a vegetable. Italian breeds with fleshy stem and leaves to be used as a vegetable are often referred to as Florence Fennel or Finocchio in English, but the name finocchio may mean any type of fennel in Italian. Plant family

Apiaceae (parsley family).

Sensory quality

Sweet and aromatic, similar to anise. For other sweet spices, see licorice.

Fennel pollen, also known as spice of the angels, has a subtle fennel flavour, lacking some of the sweet­ness but with a distinct note of pine needles (though others might disagree with this as­socia­tion of mine). The dried fruits of wild fennel (traded only in small scale) have a similar scent. Main con­stituents

The content of essential varies strongly (0.6 to 6%); fruits in the center of an umbel are generally greater, greener and stronger in fragrance. Time of harvest and climate are also important.

The essential oil of the most important fennel variety (var. dulce) contains anethole (50 to 80%), limonene (5%), fenchone (5%), estragole (methyl chavicol), safrole, α-pinene (0.5%), camphene, β-pinene, β-myrcene and p-cymene. In contrast, the un­cultivated form (var. vulgare) contains often more essential oil, but since it is charac­terized by the bitter fenchone (12 to 22%), it is of little value.

Origin

Medi­terra­nean. The plant’s popu­larity spread north­wards during the Middle Ages, when it was grown in monas­teries (see lovage). Etymology

The genus name foeniculum (Latin for little hay) probably refers to the aroma of fennel and is the source of the name of fennel in many con­temporary Euro­pean languages. Examples are German Fenchel, Italian finocchio, Portuguese funcho, Swedish fänkål, Dutch venkel, Finnish fenkoli and Russian fenkhel [фенхель]. There are, however, a couple of similar names referring to fenugreek in some European tongues that likewise derive from the same Latin word foenum hay.

Some languages do not distinguish clearly between fennel and anise. For example, in Amharic, the name insilal [እንስላል] may stand for fennel, anise and even dill. In Hebrew tongue, the term shumar [שומר] fennel may also used for anise, although there is a separate name for the latter, anis [אניס]. Moreover, dill has a very similar name: shamir [שמיר] — to make things worse, ash-shamir [الشمر] is the name of fennel in Arabic!

Also in Romanian and Turkish languages, one finds identical or very similar terms for fennel and anise, which might fool a cook (or cookbook writer). Some European languages name fennel as a pharmaceutical variant of dill, e. g., Estonian apteegitill and Russian aptechnyi ukrop [аптечный укроп] pharmacy-dill. On the other hand, a Yiddish name of fennel is italienisher koper [איטאַליענישער קאָפּער] Italian dill.

Young fennel shoots

Sterile fennel plant, reddish–brown cultivar (Bronze fennel)

In the Hindi tongue, anise and fennel are often syn­onymously called saunf [सौंफ] although of the two spices, only fennel is common in Indian cuisine. To make a clear distinction between the both, fennel may also be called moti saunf [मोटी सौंफ] thick fennel, because its fruits are somewhat larger. Similar relations between the names of these two spices are also found in some other Indian languages, but the Urdu tongue closely related to Hindi has distinct names for fennel (saunf [سونف]) and anise (anisuan [انیسواں]).

Many other Indic names of fennel derive from a word for sweet, e. g., Oriya modhuri [ମଧୁରୀ], Bengali mouri [মৌরি] and Sanskrit madhurika [मधुरिका] See licorice and bear’s garlic for details on the Proto-Indo–European root MEDʰU sweet. In Sri Lanka, there is an apparently similar name maduru [මාදූරු], but I doubt whether it belongs to the same kin: There is an alternative Sinhala name maha-duru [මහදුරු] large cumin, of which maduru could be a contracted form.

A curious outsider among the Indian names is Kashmiri badyan [بادین], which almost everywhere else stands for star anise.

The Indonesian name jintan manis sweet cumin (also applied to anise) reflects the much greater importance of cumin, of which fennel is thought to be a variety, in Indonesian cuisine. Analogous formations are French aneth doux or Russian sladkij ukrop [сладкий укроп] sweet dill and Hungarian édeskömény sweet caraway. All these spices (anise, cumin, dill, caraway) belong to the same plant family (Apiaceae) and, in varying degree, resemble each other in shape and fragrance. See also cicely.

The Modern Greek name for fennel, maratho [μάραθο], can be traced back to Ancient Greek marathon [μάραθον] (the oldest recorded form is mara­thuwon [𐀔𐀨𐀶𐀺] on the Linear B tablets); possibly, there is a connection to the Indic names mentioned in the previous paragraph. Names derived thence are found in Coptic (malatron [ⲙⲁⲗⲁⲧⲣⲟⲛ]) and in a small cluster of South East European languages: Albanian maraja, Bulgarian morach [морач] and Romanian mărar; the latter, however, has changed its meaning to dill, again emphasizing the widespread confusion between those two plants.

Marathon [Μαραθών] (Modern Marathonas [Μαραθώνας]) is also the name of a famous site in Attica, where the Greeks defeated the Persians in 490, thus laying the foundation for the later glory of the classical era. The placename is said to refer to the abundance of wild fennel growing there. The island capital of Madeira, Funchal, certainly got its name from the abundant fennel plants (Portuguese funcho).

Another group of related names can be spotted in the tongues of Western Asia: Turkish rezene (hence Bulgarian rezene [резене] and Macedonian razijan [разијан]), Kurdish dhaziana [ذازیانة] and Farsi razianeh [رازیانه]. I do not know anything about the origin of these names. Selected Links

Indian Spices: Fennel (indianetzone.com) Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Fenchel (rezkonv.de via archive.org) A Pinch of Fennel (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Fennel Chinese Herb Database: Fennel Medical Spice Exhibit: Fennel (via archive.org) (via archive.org) Fennel Pollen (Spice of the Angels) Transport Information Service: Fennel seeds The Spice House: Fennel Pollen Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Fenchel (biozac.de) chemikalienlexikon.de: Anethol Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk: Fennel Desirable Herb and Spice Varieties: Fennel Herbs by Linda Gilbert: Fennel

Fennel umbels

Flowering fennel umbel

Fennel fruits, often referred to as fennel seeds rather inaccurately, are an ancient spice of the Mediterranean, known by the Greeks since three millennia. In the course of time, fennel usage spread both to the East and to the North, which is why fennel is now part of Northern European cookery as well as of East Asian cooking. Quite often, salty foods receive only a small dash of fennel — so small, indeed, that fennel’s importance is easily overlooked.

Being a main component of the Chinese five spice powder (wu xiang fen, see star anise), fennel is firmly rooted in Chinese cuisine, although it is hardly ever used alone, but always as component in spice mixtures. Besides five spice powder, it is often found in spice mixtures employed for long-cooked stews (see black cardamom) or master sauce (see cassia).

Fennel is quite im­por­tant in several regional cui­sines of the Indian sub­continent, parti­cularly in Bengal, where it is part of the typical five-spice-mix panch phoron (see nigella). Fennel usage is, however, not re­stricted to Bengal: In Kashmir, I once had an ex­cellent duck flavoured with toasted fennel; in Sri Lanka, toasted fennel fruits are one of the typical in­gredients re­spon­sible for the subtle and complex aroma of fiery and chile­laden curries. The toasting procedure not only increases the flavour, but also changes the character of fennel to a more spicy and less sweet impression.

Fennel is much used recipes from Iran, Arabia and the Levant; it is also well estab­lished in Central Europe, chiefly to flavour rye breads, where the com­bination of sweet fennel and earthy bread is particularly delightful (see also blue fenugreek for dark breads); moreover, fennel is often used for pickled vegetables and herbed vinegar (see dill). Last but not least, fennel is part of many sweet pastries. Only in the last application, anise can be used instead of fennel, although the flavours will differ.

Young fennel umbel

Fennel flowers

As fennel is native to the Medi­terra­nean, it is most typical for the cui­sines of Southern Europe. It is used for meats and poultry, but even more for fish and see food. Fennel is rather popular in Southern France and often contained in the Provençal spice mixture herbes de Provence (see lavender).

Italians are particularly fond of fennel, employing it for many different kinds of foods, e. g., for sausages or pasta sauces. It is often contained, together with herbs (thyme, oregano), in olive oil based marinades for vegetables and, sometimes, sea foods. The marinated vegetables are usually eaten as appetizers (antipasti), together with white bread and red wine.

Fennel pollen has a spicy–ethereal fennel scent that best complements fruity flavours as found in Italian food, particularly in South Italy. For example, I like risotto with tomatoes, fennel pollen and a hint of thyme. Being less robust than fennel fruits, fennel pollen should be added late in the cooking process, or even just before serving.