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 flavoring in some natural toothpastes. The seeds are used in cookery and sweet desserts. Many cultures in India, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Middle East use fennel seed in cooking. It is one of the most important spices in Kashmiri Pandit and Gujarati cooking. It is an essential ingredient of the Assamese/Bengali/Oriya spice mixture "panch phoron" and in Chinese five-spice powders. In many parts of India, roasted fennel seeds are consumed as "mukhwas", an after-meal digestive and breath freshener, or candied as comfit. Fennel leaves are used in some parts of India as leafy green vegetables either by themselves or mixed