Fennel seasoning application to what. The use of fennel seeds, useful properties, composition, contraindications. Consumption in food
Fennel is made from the seeds of the fennel plant., which are located in its inflorescences. They have a sweet-spicy taste and a pleasant smell, combining the aroma of dill and anise. For characteristic small size, oblong shape and greenish-brown tint.
Scientists have found that the first mention of fennel is found in the books of ancient India. Even then, it was used as a seasoning for dishes, which not only improves their taste, but also protects against many diseases. in ancient Greece and Ancient Rome the plant was used after meals to freshen breath and improve digestion. In the Middle Ages, the spice becomes widespread in Europe and begins to be grown in the field.
Benefits and chemical composition
- The composition of the seasoning includes a large amount of antioxidants, which are an excellent tool for the prevention of cancer.
- Fennel has an anti-inflammatory effect and helps eliminate advanced level cholesterol in the blood.
- The use of seasoning in the daily diet has a beneficial effect in the treatment of pneumonia, bronchitis and hepatitis.
- Fennel is an indispensable tool in an effort to maintain vigilance in the eyes, strengthen hair roots and improve memory.
- A pleasant property of the spice is the ability to accelerate metabolism, stabilize blood sugar levels, which reduces the desire to eat sweet and starchy foods. That is why the seasoning is so popular among those who want to lose weight.
- Experts have proven that the properties of fennel are also useful for caring for mature skin. The phytoestrogens contained in it are indispensable for eliminating wrinkles and skin pigmentation disorders.
- This spice is able to treat alcohol poisoning, as it neutralizes toxins and carcinogens in the blood.
The spice is rich in minerals, among which are calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and chromium. It contains vitamins of groups A, B and C, as well as a significant amount of essential oils.
Harm and contraindications
The risk when using fennel exists in cases of intolerance to this product by the body. It is also contraindicated in pregnant women, as it can cause unwanted spasms (read more about the beneficial properties of fennel and contraindications for women in general). It is not recommended to combine fennel with other diuretic drugs, as they enhance the effect, which negatively affects the well-being of a person.
The components of fennel essential oils are dangerous in case of overdose: They cause breathing problems, heart palpitations and bleeding. Therefore, it is important to use seasoning in moderation (?).
The beneficial properties and contraindications of fennel are written in detail.
Consumption in food
Often used in meat and fish dishes, less often in soups and salads. The seasoning is most popular in the preparation of pork, carp and pike.. To reveal the flavor of the seasoning, it can be heated in a skillet or rubbed lightly with your fingers. It is worth remembering that the seeds are used in a ratio of 3-4 g of spice per 1 kg of meat.
How to prepare?
The seeds are harvested after they have matured, when they turn light brown. This stage lasts two months - August and September. The ripening process is uneven, so the collection occurs repeatedly.
Drying fennel seeds:
- Cut inflorescences (so-called umbrellas).
- Put them in a dry dark place (for 2-3 days).
- Rub the dried florets between your palms over newspaper to separate the seeds from the stem.
- Remove the seeds from the husk.
- Pour the fennel seeds into a jar with a tight lid.
How to choose and where to buy?
When buying seasoning in the form of seeds, you should pay attention to their appearance. They should be light brown in color, dense structure, with pronounced veins.
You can buy dried herbs at any supermarket. as well as food markets. The price for 100 grams of spice was set in the range from 80 to 120 rubles in Moscow and from 70 to 100 rubles in St. Petersburg.
Thus, fennel can be safely called indispensable in the kitchen of any housewife. It gives a delicious taste to dishes and has a wide range of beneficial properties for the body. It is necessary for people of any age, everyone will find in it a remedy for many ailments.
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Fennel, uses and properties
Fennel: The use of this spice is documented in manuscripts that are over 5,000 years old. Fennel is both tasty and healthy!
Fennel seeds are used in national cuisines Romania, Spain, France, Italy, China, Greece, India as a spice. Since ancient times, this spice has gained particular popularity among the royal people of England.
How seasoning is used fennel seeds, but other parts of the plant have also been used in cooking.
fennel leaves add to salads, season soups. The stems are used in marinades for apples, watermelons, mushrooms, for pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage. In blanched form, it is used to prepare sauces, soups. fennel bulbs used to make side dishes.
In the East, the use of fennel seeds is very popular as follows: they are lightly fried in a dry frying pan and used almost everywhere - starting with salads and snacks, adding to soups, side dishes of cereals and vegetables, as well as pies, pastries, puddings, casseroles.
Meat and fish dishes only benefit from the use of this spice, acquiring a more refined oriental taste.
Healing properties of fennel. It gained wide popularity not only because of its spicy taste, but also largely due to its healing properties.
Fennel, the use of which since ancient times gives good results in cosmetology, is successfully used to create and maintain beauty at the present time.
Creams and gels with fennel oil smooth wrinkles, increase elasticity and even out skin tone. Compresses from the infusion are still used by cosmetologists to treat inflamed eyelids and watery eyes.
Adding fennel to various dishes not only gives them an oriental taste and aroma, but also prevents various diseases. Fennel has amazing properties, the use of which strengthens the entire body: it nourishes the plasma, blood, muscles, and bone marrow.
According to Ayurveda - the ancient science of health - the aroma of fennel has a calming effect on nervous system bringing the mind and intellect into a state of concentration and attention.
An infusion of fennel seeds (1 teaspoon per cup of boiling water) is used for colds and flu to cleanse Airways from mucus; in diseases of the genitourinary system to reduce pain, spasms and swelling; to improve the functioning of the digestive system, to increase the lactation of nursing mothers.
Fennel is an effective therapeutic agent for cancer patients after chemotherapy.
A tea made from a mixture of equal parts fennel seeds, cumin and coriander (0.5-1 teaspoon per cup of boiling water) is an excellent tonic for people with stomach problems, especially children and the elderly.
IN medicinal purposes it can be taken in the form of an infusion (tea), either alone or in combination with and in equal proportions (1 teaspoon of a mixture of spices in a glass of boiling water).
You can chew fennel seeds lightly roasted in a dry frying pan after a meal.
Fennel application: both tasty and healthy!
Use fennel in your food regularly, and you will visit the pharmacy less often!
If you have any additions or comments - I will be glad.
Fennel (also called sweet dill) is a very ancient spice that looks like dill, but has a pleasant sweetish taste reminiscent of. In cooking, seeds, pinnate leaves, young shoots and the base of the plant stem are used.
Origin and cultivation of fennel
Fennel (Foeniculum) - perennial herbaceous plant, outwardly resembling an anise-flavored dill, belongs to the genus of fennel from the Umbrella family (Apiaceae). To umbrella belong, cumin and the already mentioned anise. Fennel is commonly known as medicine and spice in Greece, Rome, and Egypt. In Europe, it appeared in the Middle Ages and was used to treat headaches and coughs.
Fennel comes from the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and Southern Europe. Today it is cultivated in many European countries, America, India, and Ukraine.
Uses of fennel in cooking
In cooking, fennel fruits are most in demand, they are used to flavor marinades, liqueurs, bread, biscuits, puddings, various sauces. They are great for canning zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash, delicate umbrellas give pickles a pleasant aroma and enhance the strength of vegetables. Fennel fruits are part of some national spice sets.
Fennel leaves and seeds are added to soups, and fish dishes, sausages, minced meats, sauces, marinades, and some drinks. Fennel roots are stewed, added to stews, baked with fish or meat.
The use of fennel in medicine, perfume industry
Fennel is known to increase lactation in lactating women. It has a pronounced disinfectant property. Fennel tincture can be used to wipe the eyes with conjunctivitis and pustules on the skin with rashes.
Antispasmodic, carminative, laxative and diuretic properties of fennel are also known.
The soft warm anise scent of fennel (fennel oil) is widely used in the perfume industry and soap making.
Irina Surdu specially for the site
Fennel(Foeniculum) from the Umbelliferae or Celery family (Umbelliferae or Apiaceae) is also known as pharmacy dill and sweet anise. Fennel is a sweet and aromatic spice.
Cooking uses of fennel spice
Fennel is valued for all its parts: bulb, petioles, leaves, seeds.
Fennel spice is a seed that has a slightly sweet and spicy flavor with dill and anise aromas. Before use, the spice is sometimes slightly fried in a pan, or ground.
Fennel spice is loved in Europe, as well as in the cuisines of China and India.
The fennel spice is good in many dishes, and is most often used with fish, meat, poultry, for baking, in the production of drinks, added to teas, for salting and fermenting vegetables. Fennel can be found in pilaf, sausages, cheeses, marinades, sauces, candies.
Fennel is found in spice blends such as curry, European for fish, Chinese five spice, Provence; combined with cumin, ginger, star anise, anise, dill, coriander, pepper, mint, etc.
Fennel leaves are put in salads, soups, stewed vegetables, meat and fish dishes.
Some housewives use fennel stalks when pickling vegetables.
The bulb (tuber) of fennel can be boiled, stewed, fried, baked, used in first and main dishes. Traditionally tubers are combined with white fish and seafood.
Use in medicine fennel spices
Since fennel improves digestion, it is used to improve metabolism and as a carminative. Dill water, which is given to young children so that the stomach does not hurt, is fennel tincture.
Fennel - antiseptic, helps with coughs and sore throats. It is used in asthma, in sedatives, diuretics, eye remedies.
In general, fennel is a sedative. In cosmetology, it is used to restore skin moisture.
Description of the fennel spice
Fennel (Foeniculum) from the Umbelliferae or Celery family (Umbelliferae or Apiaceae) comes from the Mediterranean, it is a two- or perennial up to two meters high.
Common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) and Italian fennel (Foeniculum italica) are more commonly used in cooking and medicine.
The stem is branched, the leaves are filiform (similar to dill), the inflorescences are umbrellas, the flowers are small yellow, the seeds are elongated 4–10 mm long, the bulb is spindle-shaped.
Seeds are harvested in 2 stages, when they turn greenish-yellow - first from the central umbrellas, then all the rest, dried in the sun with good ventilation.
Fennel contains vitamins B, C, E, K, PP, carotene, ascorbic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, proteins, sugars, fatty (used as a substitute for cocoa butter), essential oils. Essential oil (hardens at +5) contains anethole, anisic aldehyde and acid, fenchone, pinene, camphene, phellandrene.
Currently, fennel is cultivated in many countries (the plant loves heat and light), mainly in Europe, India, China, Argentina, the USA, Japan, and some African countries.
History of fennel spice
Fennel is native to the Mediterranean. Fennel was used in cooking and medicine in ancient Egypt, Greece, China, and India. In the ancient manuscripts of Hippocrates, Asclepiades, Discorides, Pliny, Avicenna, fennel is mentioned as medicinal plant.
In ancient Greece, fennel was called Marathon after the place where the historic victory was won, and was considered a symbol of success.
Fennel was a popular medicinal plant in England (18th century reference); English Puritans also refreshed their breath with fennel seeds - this habit apparently came from India.
From Sanskrit, the names of fennel are translated as "a plant with a hundred flowers" and "having a sweet smell." Fennel is also called pharmacy for its similarity.
Fennel ordinary- This is a plant that is also called pharmaceutical dill or Voloshsky fennel in a different way. The homeland of fennel is considered to be the countries of the Mediterranean. Fennel was known in ancient Greece and in Ancient Egypt where it was used both as a spice and as a medicinal plant. The first mention of fennel dates back to the 18th century.
Wild fennel grows in grassy areas, preferring dry rocky slopes, ditches, and roadsides. In the wild, this plant can be found in the Crimea, in the Caucasus and in Central Asia.
Description of fennel
Fennel ordinary is a perennial or biennial plant belonging to the Umbelliferae family. Fennel can grow up to two meters in height, its stem is round, straight, highly branched. Fennel root is a fleshy bulb, yellow-white in color. The leaves of this plant are very similar to dill leaves. Fennel is completely covered with a bluish bloom. Fennel blooms in the second half of summer as well as dill - umbrellas with small yellow flowers, its fruits-seeds ripen in autumn.
Fennel as a medicinal and essential oil plant is cultivated in Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, the North Caucasus and Krasnodar Territory. Balonsky is considered the most common variety of fennel.
The chemical composition and calorie content of fennel
Fennel is a plant with a high content of essential oils. The content of essential oil in the fruits of this plant is high - about 6.5%, fennel leaves contain only 0.5% of essential oil. Fennel essential oil has a sweetish spicy taste and a characteristic pronounced aroma. It contains fenchone, anethole, camphor, α-pinene, methylchavicol, α-phellandrene, limonene, cineole, terpinolene, bornylacetate, citral, and other valuable substances.
Fennel fruits contain from 12 to 18% fatty oils, which consist of oleic, petroselinic, palmitonic and linoleic acids.
The fennel herb contains a high content of glycosides, ascorbic acid, carotene, flavonoids, minerals and B vitamins.
The calorie content of fennel is only 31 kcal per 100 g of the product.
The use of fennel
Outwardly, fennel resembles dill, but its taste and aroma is akin to anise, from which fennel differs in a sweeter taste.
Almost the entire plant is used as food by people: bulb, trunk, herbs and seeds. Fresh green fennel - its feathery stems and leaves have a pleasant, refreshing, slightly sweet taste. Greens and fennel bulbs are added to salads, soups and many other dishes to give them a special aroma and taste. Fennel seeds are dried and used as a seasoning, adding it to sauces, fish, meat dishes, confectionery and bakery products, as well as for canning vegetables.
Fennel essential oil, which is obtained from the seeds of this plant, has found its application not only in the food and confectionery industry, but also in cosmetology, as well as in perfumery, where it serves as an excellent flavoring agent. The solid part of fennel oil is used in pharmaceuticals as a substitute for cocoa butter.
Perfumers also essential oil used as a fragrance. Interestingly, after the essential oil is obtained from the fennel fruit, the remaining fatty oil is used in technology, and the waste left after the oil is obtained is fed to livestock.
As a spice, fennel essential oil is used in the cuisines of Hungary, Romania, France, China, India, Italy, Spain, etc.
Medicinal properties of fennel
Preparations made from fennel fruits increase the secretion of the digestive glands, they also have antispasmodic, choleretic and diuretic effects, while regulating intestinal motor function and providing a slight antibacterial effect. There is a beneficial calming effect of fennel fruit on the central nervous system. Also, fennel fruits are a component of anti-asthma medicine.
Essential fennel oil is used as an expectorant and for flatulence. Fennel oil is also used to improve the taste of medicines.
Made from fennel Dill water"affects the improvement of bowel function and can even be used in the treatment of flatulence in infants.
Fennel infusion is known as an effective expectorant for bronchitis. Interestingly, in Korean medicine, it is used as an antipyretic.
IN folk medicine fennel is also used for spastic colitis, neurasthenia and bronchial asthma. Fennel is included in the composition of choleretic, carminative and soothing teas. Fennel is also used in case of violation, as well as a delay in the menstrual cycle.
Contraindications to the use of fennel
Despite the fact that fennel relieves nausea and helps increase lactation (milk production) in lactating women, you should not abuse this plant. Fennel-based preparations should also be used with caution during pregnancy.
Fennel is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance. It should also not be consumed in large quantities by epileptics.
The use of fennel in cooking
Fennel is valued not only as a medicine, but also as a spice. Despite the fact that outwardly fennel is very similar to ordinary dill, it has a specific taste and aroma, which is actively used in cooking. Fennel is able to add sophistication and originality to any dish, it is added to soups, main courses, salads, and also cooked as an independent dish. For example, Italian cuisine is famous for its pickled fennel.
In our country, fennel also began to gain well-deserved popularity. Fennel panicles are used for home canning vegetables.
The rest of the fennel parts (bulb and stems) are also quite widely used. So fennel has long been prepared as a side dish for meat and fish dishes, for this, parts of the plant are simply scalded with boiling water, and then, if desired, subjected to additional heat treatment.
However, fennel fruits, which are dried, ground and used as spices for fish and meat, are still the most popular. Fennel seeds insist vegetable oil, they make a healthy and tasty tea. Fennel is often added to pies. Ground fennel root is often included in confectionery.
The expressive taste of fennel and the specific anise-like aroma are appreciated by culinary specialists all over the world. The flesh of the fennel stem is crispy in taste, the feathery leaves are used as an aromatic herb, and the fennel bulb is cooked as a vegetable. Skilled cooks use fennel all the way from the seed to the onion, which is especially good as a garnish for poultry, for this, the onion should be cut into four parts and fried in peanut butter. Fennel can also be eaten raw, then it will retain all its valuable and beneficial properties.
Romanchukevich Tatiana
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