Fennel seeds Nutrition facts

Fennel seeds

Sweet, anise-flavored fennel seed together with thyme, nettle, mugwort, etc., has been revered as one of the nine Anglo-Saxon sacred herbs for its exceptional 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 belonging to the parsley (Umbelliferae) family; a large family of herbs and spices which also includes some of other common members such as caraway, dill, anise, cumin, etc. 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. This herbaceous plant reaches up to 2 meters (about 6 feet) in height with deep green feathery (lacy) leaves and bears golden-yellow flowers in umbels. 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 with fine vertical stripes over their surface.
In general, fennels are harvested during the early hours of the day to avoid loss of seeds in the field. As in caraway, its stems stacked until they were dry and then threshed, processed before dispatching to the markets.