Fennel Seed

• Sweet, anise-flavored Fennel seed together with thyme, nettle, mugwort, etc., has been revered as one of nine Anglo-Saxon sacred herbs for its conventional health benefits. The spice is one of the most sought-after ingredients in many popular cuisines all over the Mediterranean regions.
• Fennel is a perennial herb plant belonging to the parsley or Umbelliferae family. Scientific name of Fennel is Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce.
• Fennel is native to Southern Europe and grown extensively all over Europe, Middle-East, China, India, and Turkey.
• In general, Fennel seeds are harvested when their seed heads turn light-brown. The seeds, which closely resemble that of anise seeds in appearance, feature oblong or curved (comma) shape, about 3-4 mm long, light brown-color with fine vertical stripes over their surface.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FENNEL SEEDS

• Fennel symbolizes longevity, courage, and strength. In addition to its use as medicinal values, Fennel has many health benefiting nutrients, essential compounds, anti-oxidants, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
• Fennel seeds indeed contain numerous flavonoid anti-oxidants like kaempferol and quercetin. These compounds function as powerful anti-oxidants by removing harmful free radicals from the body thus offer protection from cancers, infection, aging and degenerative neurological diseases.
• Fennel seeds are rich source of dietary fiber. 100 g seeds provide 39.8 g of fiber. Much of this roughage is metabolically inert insoluble fiber, which helps increase bulk of the food by absorbing water throughout the digestive system and easing constipation condition.
• Fennel seeds compose of health benefiting volatile essential oil compounds whose active principles in the Fennel are known to have antioxidant, digestive, carminative, and anti-flatulent properties.
• Fennel seeds are concentrated source of minerals like copper, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc, and magnesium.
• Furthermore, the seeds indeed are the storehouse for many vital vitamins. Vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C as well as many B-complex vitamins like thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and niacin particularly are concentrated in these seeds.

SELECTION AND STORAGE

• Store dry Fennel seeds as you do in case of other seeds like caraway, dill, etc. Place whole seeds in a clean air-seal container and store in cool, humid free and dark place.
• Ground and powdered Fennel should be stored inside the refrigerator in airtight containers and should be used sooner since it loses flavor quickly due to evaporation of its essential oils.

USES

• Fennel has long been used as a remedy for flatulence and indigestion in traditional medicines.
• Fennel seed decoction or added as spice in food has been found to increase breast milk secretion in nursing mothers.
• Fennel water often is used in newborn babies to relieve colic pain and help aid digestion.
• Fennel seed oil is used to relieve coughs, bronchitis and as massage oil to cure joint pains.
• In order to keep the fragrance and flavor intact, Fennel is generally ground just before preparing dishes or whole seeds are gently roasted under light-heat before using them in a recipe
• Fennel seed is widely used as a savory spice. It is principally added in cooking as a condiment and flavoring base.
• Its seeds are widely used in fish, cheese spreads, and vegetable dishes.
• Its seeds are being used as part of curry powder. In addition, sugarcoated Fennel seeds (saunf) have been used as a condiment after food to improve digestion in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
• Fennel seeds are used to flavor breads, dough, cakes, biscuits, and cheese.