FENNEL

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a perennial herb that belongs to the carrot family. Though its thick stalks with feathery leaves and bright poofs of yellow flowers are native to the Mediterranean region, they grow wild on the side of roads everywhere from Italy to California to Australia, where it’s earned full-on invasive weed status.

The most common cultivated fennel plant is called Florence fennel, and most parts of the plant are edible: while the hollow fennel stalks can be a bit tough, its edible white bulb is treated as a vegetable and its leaves (which are similar in consistency to dill), fruits (colloquially called seeds), pollen, and essential oils are incorporated into dishes all over the world.

Fresh fennel bulbs have a celery-esque crunchy texture when eaten raw, but when roasted or braised, they turn silky. Bright green fresh fennel leaves add an aromatic, bittersweet pop of flavor as a garnish to rich savory or sweet dishes, or incorporated into salads and sauces. When making a roast chicken (like Chef Gordon Ramsay’s perfect roasted chicken, recipe here), add wedges of chopped fennel bulb into the pan, along with shallots and garlic halved lengthwise; as the chicken crisps up, the roasted fennel will turn golden brown and soak up all pan juices, caramelizing to a near-melted consistency.

Fennel Supplier Online. The dried pale green or light brown seed you might recognize from your spice rack—the one that looks a lot like cumin and caraway—is an aromatic spice known as fennel, with a flavor similar to (and often confused with) that of sweet anise seed.

Fennel seeds are an important seasoning throughout India, Afghanistan, Iran, and the rest of the Middle East, seen in blends like garam masala or panch phoron, as well as Chinese five spice powder. It’s also the main flavoring in many Italian sausages,Order Fennel Online.

Fennel is super high in dietary fiber, covering more than 25 percent of your daily value, as well as potassium, which is crucial in maintaining low blood pressure. It’s got vitamins A, C, B6, and a host of others, reining in those free radicals that lead to premature aging.