Fennel: A deadly history
From the first Greek marathon to Shakespeare's Ophelia, fennel has some prestigious and often deadly connections. This illustrated history guides you through the fronds.
Native to the shores of the Mediterranean, fennel is known for its gentle flavour notes of liquorice and anise, and the clean crunch of its stalks and bulbs.
One of the most versatile edible plants out there, fennel is classed as both a herb and a vegetable depending on the variety. Florence fennel is considered a vegetable as it forms a large bulb, while common fennel is known as a herb.
Whichever variety you choose, all parts of the plant are edible, from the delicate fronds down to the long tap roots.
Those tap roots will give you a clue about the relatives of fennel too. A member of the Apiaceae family, fennel has a lot of edible and aromatic relatives, including carrot (perhaps the world’s most famous tap root), celery, parsley, coriander, dill and lovage.
Apiaceae is also known as the Umbellifer family, as the flowers in this group look like upside down umbrellas.
After they turn, these flowers are the source of fennel seeds, which feature as one of the five herbs used in Chinese five-spice powder, and the Indian five-spice mix, panch phoron.
Fennel pollen has become quite trendy in recent years too, though thanks to the laborious harvesting process involved, it’s not cheap. Its strong flavour (when compared to fennel seeds) means you only need a pinch, so if you’re thinking of splashing out, there’s some recipe ideas here.
Where did the word fennel come from?
Fennel entered into Old English via the Latin word faenum, which means ‘hay’. A comparison which was probably prompted by the feathery appearance of the fronds and flowers.
Perhaps more interesting though is the story behind the Greek word for fennel, which in English translates to marathos or marathon.
Fennel and the origins of the Greek marathon
It’s time for some sprawling ancient history, so strap yourselves in.
In 490 BCE a huge battle took place in Marathon, a small Greek town in mainland Greece. The invading Persian army (whose sights were set on nearby Athens) vastly outnumbered the Greeks, but thanks to some battlefield cunning and the quick footedness of one man, the Greek army was victorious.
The town of Marathon was named after the Greek word for fennel - μάραθο or máratho - and literally translates as ‘place of fennel’ because of the vast swathes of wild fennel that grew there.
When the Persians landed in Greece, a Greek hemerodromos (a person who could run for a day or more) named Pheidippides ran a staggering 260 km (161 miles) in two days to request help from Sparta. This epic journey is now celebrated annually with the Spartathlon, a ultra distance race, believed by some to be the world’s most gruelling.
The Spartans agreed to help the Athenians in the battle, but their religious laws forbade them from fighting until there was a full moon, which was six days away.
Pheidippides needed to warn the Athenians of this delay, so he popped his ancient adidas back on and ran all the way back to Athens.
Thanks to Pheidippides, the Athenian army knew not to bother waiting for the Spartans, and instead launched a surprise attack against the much bigger Persian army in the town of Marathon.
Did Pheidippides run back to Athens again?
Although the Ancient Greek writer Herodotus does not state that Pheidippides ran back to Athens, this story has entered into Greek myth.
The distance between Marathon and central Athens is about 26 miles and legend has it that after running this distance and delivering his message, Pheidippides promptly dropped down dead.
It may have been another Greek herald though, or the distance might have been marched by the returning troops. Either way, this ‘marathon’ became an integral part of the modern Olympics from 1896 onwards.
Folklore fun
Ancient Greece’s flirtation with fennel doesn’t begin and end with Pheidippides though. Prometheus famously stole fire from the Olympian gods, storing a spark of it inside a vessel, which was hidden inside a hollow fennel stalk.
Much like the other stories in this newsletter, it didn’t end well. Prometheus was chained to a rock and each day his liver was pecked out by a vulture, before growing back overnight, just so it could be pecked out again. Ooof.
Gruesome story of the week
Finding a crime associated with fennel proved difficult, so this week we’ve got a loosely related gruesome story instead.
As well as edible plants, the Apiaceae family is home to some pretty poisonous species. The most infamous of these is Oenanthe crocata - Hemlock water dropwort.
Hemlock is believed to have been the plant consumed during the ‘forced suicide’ of the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, but perhaps the most gruesome hemlock story comes from Sardinia.
The Greek poet Homer first referred to the ‘sardonic smile’ in the Odyssey, meaning a smile of contempt and bitterness.
The phrase is believed to be a reference to the use of the plant in Phoenician Sardinia (around the 8th century BCE). At this time, a local species of water dropwort was used to euthanize criminals and elderly people who were deemed to be a ‘burden’ to society.
It’s believed that hemlock was added to their drinks and once the effects took hold, they were either bludgeoned to death or pushed off a cliff.
If you’ve seen the film Midsommar, you’ll be familiar with this type of thing.
The sardonic smile was an after effect of consuming the poisonous plant, as it can leave a rictus-like grin on the face of its victims. Lovely stuff.
Literary connection
In Act 4, Scene 5 of Hamlet - Ophelia’s last appearance before her death - she gives away flowers from her bouquet. While the most quoted of these is ‘rosemary for remembrance’, she also includes fennel. In Shakespearean times, fennel symbolised ‘false flattery’ and marital infidelity.
On a more cheerful note, there are also some lovely poems about fennel too.
Musical Interlude
Fennel is the solo venture of Hiromi "Hirohiro" Sagane, the bassist from Japanese rock band Tricot. You can listen to her perform her song ‘Drunker’ live in the video below.
Recipes
If all those grim tales of endurance, torture, and ritual murder have given you an appetite, here are some lovely recipes from across the internet.
The Greek Vegan’s Marathopites (fennel pies)
Janet Fletcher’s fennel and orange salad
Hugh Fernley Whittingstall’s Fennel and Celeriac Soup with Oysters
Plus, here’s Gennaro Contaldo with some tips on how to use all the different parts of a fennel bulb.
The science and history bit
Florence fennel (F. vulgare var. azoricum) is a very close relative of herb or common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Florence fennel is grown as an annual crop though, while common fennel is a perennial that can last for a few years.
Herb fennel will grow anywhere with free draining soil and sunny weather, which is why it can often be found in coastal areas. India, China and Bulgaria produce the majority of the world’s fennel plants.
Fennel has been used in a wide variety of traditional medicines, with the Ancient Egyptians using it as a remedy for snake bites. Today, it is usually used for relieving digestive issues such as cramping and bloating and can even reduce how much you fart. You can learn more about the medicinal uses of fennel here.
Want to grow fennel yourself?
Florence fennel isn’t the easiest vegetable to grow. Its success is dependent on the weather, the type of soil it’s grown in, and your ability to keep a close eye on it.
In hot weather, the plants have a tendency to bolt (flower) which will lead to a tougher and woodier bulb, or no bulb at all. As Florence fennel is quite expensive to buy though, it can be a great crop to master.
You can find out more about growing Florence fennel in this helpful guide from the RHS.
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Next week it’s the turn of one of the most ancient and celebrated fruits, the fig.
Nichola Daunton is a writer and illustrator based in London. With a background in community gardening, she writes about food, horticulture and the environment.