Vegetable
Fennel
Fennel is a Mediterranean plant used as both vegetable and herb: the swollen Florence bulb is crisp and anise-sweet when raw or roasted, while feathery fronds, pollen, and seed season fish, sausages, salads, and braises. Cultivar and harvest stage decide whether the plant is grown mainly for bulb, leaf, or spice. Wild and bronze herb fennels emphasise frond and flower over bulb. Understanding bulb, frond, stalk, pollen, and seed helps match the right part to roasting, garnish, finishing, or spice use.
Also known as: Finocchio / Finocchietto, Fenouil, Marathos
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History
Mediterranean cooks used wild fennel tops and seed as aromatics with fish and pork long before bulb types were selected.
Italian regional cuisines distinguished leafy wild fennel from later Florence bulb selections.
Florence (finocchio) bulb fennel spread through European market gardens as a distinct vegetable form.
Hybrid bulb cultivars and global logistics made fennel a year-round retail vegetable while fronds and pollen remained specialty herb products.
Restaurant cookery elevated fennel fronds and pollen as finishing herbs alongside the familiar bulb.