Traditions with fennel

Fennel seeds, from a plant of the parsley family, have a sweet, anise-like taste, and are chewed after meals in India, used in Italian sausage and pork dishes, and brewed in tea. The fresh bulb and fronds are used in Mediterranean salads and fish dishes. A spice of digestion by tradition, it is also a spice of festivity, and many cultures include it in their celebration foods. These pages follow where fennel is used and what it signifies.

Where it is used

In India, roasted fennel seeds, saunf, coated in sugar, are offered after meals at restaurants and homes. In Italy, it flavours finocchiona salami and porchetta, and in Sicily, pasta con le sardine. In China, it is part of five-spice, and in Iran, it is used in herb mixtures. In Egypt, fennel tea is a common drink. In Kashmiri cooking, ground fennel is the base of many dishes.

What it means

Offering a dish of fennel seeds after a meal is a gesture of care in India, like offering a mint in the West. In ancient Greece, fennel stood for victory, and the Greek word for marathon comes from the fennel field where the battle was fought. In medieval Europe, it was hung over doors on Midsummer Eve to ward off spirits.