Culinary Herbs: Fennel

Gardeners find that growing fennel can be done just about anywhere. The result is an herb that is essential to Italian and French cooking.

 

 

Fennel, a biennial or perennial herb, is generally considered a native of southern Europe, though it is common on all Mediterranean shores. This culinary herb spread with civilization, especially where Italians have colonized, and may be found growing wild in many parts of the world, upon dry soils near the sea coast and upon river banks.

 

Fennel seems to be partial to limestone soils, such as the chalky lands of England and the shelly formation of Bermuda. Fennel has been seen growing on cliffs where there was only a pinch of soil and a bunch of dry, porous rock. The plant was cultivated by the ancient Romans for its aromatic fruits and succulent, edible shoots. At present it is most popular in Italy and France. In America it is in most demand among French and Italians, who enjoy cooking with fennel.

 

Common garden or long, sweet fennel is distinguished from wild fennel by tall (five to six feet), tubular stems. Leaf stalks form a curved sheath around the stem even as far up as the base of the leaf above. Garden fennel's green flowers are borne on more sturdy pedicels in the broader umbels. The seeds are double the size of the wild fennel seeds—one-quarter to one-half inch. They are convex on one side, flat on the other and are marked by five yellowish ribs. Seed as much as four years old can be satisfactory for planting.

In usual garden practice fennel is propagated by seeds and is grown as an annual instead of as a biennial or a perennial. Growing fennel can be done in almost any well-drained soil, but the herb seems to prefer light loams of a limy nature. Fennel is not particular as to exposure.

 

The seed may be sown in nursery beds or where the plants are to remain. In the beds, the drills may be 6 inches apart, but not more than one to three inches deep. The seed may also be scattered broadcast. An ounce will be enough for a bed 10 feet square. When the plants are about three inches tall they should be transplanted 15 or 18 inches asunder in rows approximately two feet apart. Some growers sow in late summer and in autumn so as to have early crops the following season. The plants will grow in very cold (but not actually freezing) weather.

 

For family use half an ounce of fennel seed, if fairly fresh, will produce an ample supply of plants for several years, either from the established roots or by reseeding. Unless seed is needed for household or sowing purposes, the flower stems should be cut as soon as they appear.

 

Finocchio, or Florence fennel, earns special mention as a dwarf variety. It appears to be a native of Italy, a distinct dwarf annual, very thick-set herb. The stem joints are so close together and their bases so swelled as to suggest malformation. Even when full grown and producing seed, the plant rarely exceeds two feet.

 

The large, finely cut, light green leaves are borne on very broad, pale green or almost whitish stalks, which overlap at their bases. They swell at edible maturity and form a sort of head or irregular ball—the "apple"—which is sometimes as large as a man's fist. These fennel seeds are peculiarly oblong, much broader than long, convex on one side and flat on the other, with five conspicuous ribs.

 

Growing this fennel variety is much the same as for the common fennel, though owing to the dwarf nature of the plant, the rows and the plants may be closer together. The seedlings should be five or six inches asunder. They require water frequently. When the "apple" attains the size of an egg, earth may be drawn up slightly to the base, which may be about half covered; cutting may begin about 10 days later.

Fennel is considered indispensable in French and Italian cookery. The young plants and the tender leaves are often used for garnishes and to add flavor to salads. They are also minced and added to sauces usually served with puddings. The tender stems and the leaves are employed in soups and fish sauces, though more frequently they are eaten raw as a salad with or without dressing.

 

The famous "Carosella" of Naples consists of the stems cut when the plant is about to bloom. These stems are considered a great delicacy served raw with the leaf stalks still around them. Oil, vinegar and pepper are eaten with them.

 

Cooking with Florence fennel generally involves boiling it and serving it with either a butter or a cream dressing. It suggests celery in flavor but is sweeter and is even more pleasingly fragrant. In Italy it is one of the most common and popular vegetables. In other European countries it is also well-known, but in America its cultivation is almost confined to Italian gardens.

 

 

Kains, M.G. (2007). Project Gutenberg eBook of Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation, Harvesting, Curing and Uses. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from the Project Gutenberg Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21414/21414-h/21414-h.htm.