No, this is not about Pinocchio’s cousin, but about Florence Fennel. (And no, that isn’t Jordan’s great-aunt either!) It’s that beautiful white bulb with the green lacy leaves and fragrance of licorice that often graces the produce coolers these days. But what to do with the stuff? My Italian girlfriend Toni showed me the way.

I was greatly impressed by the multi-course Italian dinner that Toni prepared for Jordan and I when we visited her last, and only with one day’s notice. What I now realize, is that while some of the dishes took a full day of preparation, these were interspersed with quick and easy side dishes. These dishes served a dual role of offering a variety of flavours, but also, they kept the meal from becoming gut-busting. I enjoyed a salad of crisp and aromatic fennel, which had the crunch of celery with an anise flavour. This was my first time eating this vegetable, and I was surprised that its preparation was so basic: chopped raw fennel, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. That’s it, and yet it seemed so continental.

Finocchio is the Italian word for fennel, but has come to refer only to a specific variety of fennel, Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum, or Florence fennel. There are two major divisions of fennel: the common or wild varieties which includes Sweet and Bitter fennels plus the ornamentals and then cultivated Florence fennel. There are several obvious differences between the two types of fennel.

Common fennel, of which there are numerous varieties, are perennial, generally very tall with long, distinct stems and cultivated chiefly for their seeds and essential oils. They are categorized as herbs. Florence fennel is an annual, generally grows to no more than two feet, and the broad base of the leaf stems form a tightly compacted “bulb” at ground level. They are harvested before they have a chance to go to seed, and are categorized as vegetables.

Both are from the larger family, Umbelliferae, which contains many commercially important plants: carrot, parsnip, celery, chervil, parsley, dill, caraway, cilantro, cumin, and anise. The name Foeniculum comes from the Latin word for “fragrant hay.” Fennel is often mislabelled as anise because of its physical similarity to anise, as well as its licorice-like fragrance.

Common or wild fennel is native to Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, but it spread with the movement of the Romans as far east as China, to the British Isles and with settlers to the New World. It now can be found growing in British Columbia and Northern California. Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans all used fennel in their cuisine and herbal medicines. Finocchio wasn’t developed until the 17^th century, in Italy. (One would guess specifically in Florence?)

All fennel contain several midicinaly active components which are said to cure everything from constipation to poor milk production in nursing mothers. Fenchone, one of the primary essential oils, is a carminative. A carminative relieves gas in the alimentary track and ais digestion. The Greeks called fennel marathron from the word “maraino” which means “to grow thin.” Greek warriors would drink fennel tea to help maintain their weight and suppress their appetites. This is still the basis today for many herbal diet supplements. Fenchone has long been used to cure colic and as a diuretic. This essential oil is a key component in the familiar gripe water that I gave my children for general grumpiness—although, gripe water never worked near as well when they decided to take the alcohol out of it!

 Fennel has always been associated with the preparation of fish, especially fatty fish such as salmon, because its chemical components aid in digestion of the fats. You have to wonder if it is just a lucky coincidence that the flavour of fennel and salmon go well together, or did Mother Nature really know what she was doing in the kitchen.

In East Indian restaurants today, your meal will often be followed by a dish of colourful candy-coated fennel seeds—are they concerned about their food?—and ground fennel seed is one of the five spices that make up the Chinese five-spice powder. Italian food and liqueurs have long been associated with fennel, including their sausages and baked goods. Serving a fennel salad between meat and pasta dishes, of course, serves the purpose of a digestive for a heavy, fat-laden meal.

Fennel bulbs should be purchased with their green foliage attached. Not only can the stems and leaves be used for beautiful garnish and as flavouring for soups and stews, but they are an indicator of how fresh the product is. While the presence of yellow flowers may make for a prettier garnish, they indicate that the plant was too ripe when picked and it will have lost a lot of its crispness and potency.

The leaves should be a bright green. Yellowed or limp greens should be a warning that the fennel has been sitting on the shelf too long. If you have to chose one that has had its greens cut off, make sure that the ends of the stems are not brown, and that the bulb is white, firm, round, and fat. Flatness can be a sign of either immaturity or old age: timing for reaping fennel is critical.

Finocchio lends itself to all methods of preparation. Whether baked, braised, sautéed, steamed, or eaten raw, this vegetable is well worth experimenting with. Cooking will lessen the flavour, so try methods that require little cooking time, or add the fennel near the end. It also makes a good addition on a veggie platter or useit instead of celery for that most famous of elegant appetizers: cheese whiz boat!