Fennel Seed, ground

The seed is used whole to spice sausages and meatballs, ground for tomato sauces of all kinds especially pizza sauce, and also used for pork roast.  Great added to ground beef, pork, veal and tomato for Bolognese style sauces.

It can be used in almost all fish dishes, especially court bouillon for poaching fish and shellfish.

Dried fennel seed is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice, brown or green in color when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the seed ages.  

For cooking, green seeds are optimal.  Fennel seeds should be pale yellow to green and have a characteristic ‘anise’ flavor.  

Fennel is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks.

Health Benefits

Fennel has an even longer history as a medicinal. The toasted seeds are often chewed as a digestive aid. 

Owing to the invigorating and purifying effects that fennel has over the human body it can help eliminate toxins and inflammations from the body. 

Fennel contains large amounts of alpha-pinene which acts as an expectorant to help reduce cold symptoms and reduce coughing.

A highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses, and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe.