Fennel when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the seed ages. For cooking, green seeds are optimal. The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to those of dill. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw. Young tender leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavor to salads, to flavor sauces to be served with puddings, and also in soups and fish sauce. Fennel seeds are sometimes confused with those of anise, which are similar in taste and appearance, though smaller. Fennel is also used as a
Fennel Greek name for fennel is marathon () or "marathos" (), and the place of the famous battle of Marathon literally means a plain with fennel. The word is first attested in Mycenaean Linear B form as ". As Old English ", fennel is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon "Nine Herbs Charm", recorded in the 10th century. In the 15th century, Portuguese settlers on Madeira noticed the abundance of wild fennel, and used the Portuguese word "funcho" (fennel) and the suffix "" to form the name of a new town, Funchal. Longfellow's 1842 poem "The Goblet