Bronze Fennel Uses: Fronds, Stalks, Seeds and Flowers in the Kitchen

Bronze fennel is a purple-leaved garden form of common fennel, Foeniculum vulgare, a plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae).¹² It tastes of anise like other fennel, but it does not form the white bulb sold as Florence fennel.³ So in the kitchen it is an herb and a seed plant, not a vegetable: you cook with its fronds, stalks, seeds, flowers and pollen.⁴ Below are the uses documented in recipes and reference works, part by part.

At a glance

Pick the fronds young

Flavor changes over the season. Forager Chef Alan Bergo finds the young, deeply colored purple fronds have a licorice flavor, while after flowering the fronds often turn green and take on a vegetal taste.⁴ For raw uses, cut the purple growth.

Fronds in salads and as a garnish

Bergo suggests picking a few fronds and adding them to a salad.⁴ Specialty Produce, a produce distributor that sells bronze fennel, calls the leaves an attractive garnish for salad, pasta and rice dishes.⁵ Its color is the main reason to reach for it over green fronds (our judgment).

Other raw uses are common practice rather than documented recipes: chopped fronds stirred into mayonnaise or aioli, a potato salad or slaw dressing, or a citrus vinaigrette. Chop them just before serving.

With fish

Several sources pair fennel with fish. Britannica notes fennel seeds and oil are used to flavor fish,¹ and Illinois Extension says herb fennel is used in fish dishes.⁶ Two recipes show how the fresh plant goes in:

Bronze fennel’s stalks and fronds can stand in for the wild fennel in Brennan’s recipe, since neither forms a bulb and both are Foeniculum vulgare (cooking judgment). Brennan’s own substitute for wild fennel is cultivated fennel stalks and leaves plus 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds.⁷

Wrapping a fronds-stuffed fish in foil or parchment and baking it is common practice. A common claim says bronze fennel suits salmon and other fatty fish best; we found no source for that.

Stalks

The tall stalks of bronze fennel are not the crisp stalks of bulb fennel. Specialty Produce suggests steaming or grilling the stems and serving them with fish, pork and poultry dishes.⁵ We found no source that slices bronze fennel stalks raw for salad, and older stalks are likely to be fibrous (our judgment). The surest use is the grilling bed above.

With pasta: a Sicilian model

The classic pasta for wild fennel is Sicily’s pasta con le sarde, with sardines. Great Italian Chefs notes that wild fennel grows abundantly in Sicily and says fennel bulbs with their tops, or soaked fennel seeds, make a good substitute where it is hard to find.⁹ Bronze fennel fronds are a reasonable stand-in for the wild fronds (cooking judgment). Specialty Produce also suggests the leaves as a garnish for pasta.⁵

A common claim says bronze fennel’s licorice note makes it a natural for tomato and basil red sauces; we found no recipe that documents it.

With root vegetables

Specialty Produce says bronze fennel seeds pair well with carrots, beets and jicama.⁵ Scattering chopped fronds over roasted carrots, beets or potatoes, or stirring them into a cream sauce for potatoes, is common practice.

In soups, stews and stock

Illinois Extension lists soups and stews among herb fennel’s uses.⁶ Add the fronds near the end if you want their aroma; that is cooking judgment, not a tested finding. A common claim says fennel is a staple of French stocks; we found no source for that, though adding a few stalks to a fish or vegetable stock is a reasonable use for trimmings.

In butter and marinades

Compound butter is a good home for fronds. As a Method starting point, mix 2 to 3 tablespoons of finely chopped fronds into 4 ounces of softened butter with a pinch of salt, and taste. Use it on fish, vegetables or grilled chicken. No source we found publishes a bronze fennel butter recipe, so this is not a tested ratio.

For marinades, chopped fronds with garlic, black pepper, lemon and oil suit chicken and pork. Specialty Produce pairs bronze fennel with pork and poultry,⁵ but the marinade itself is common practice.

Seeds

The seeds are ordinary fennel seeds. Bergo uses bronze fennel seed in Italian fennel sausage and in rubs and seasonings for fish,⁴ and Illinois Extension notes fennel seed’s use in sausage.⁶ Britannica adds pastries and sweet pickles,¹ and Specialty Produce suggests breads and biscuits.⁵ For more, see fennel seed.

Flowers and pollen

Bergo lists the flowers and pollen among the plant’s edible parts.⁴ The pollen is the expensive finishing spice sold as fennel pollen; see fennel pollen uses for how cooks use it.

Tea

Specialty Produce notes the seeds can be used to make fennel tea.⁵ A common claim says bronze fennel tea has antiseptic effects that help prevent foodborne illness, and that over-steeping destroys its beneficial compounds. We found no source for either, and this page makes no health claims. Germany’s BfR has said fennel tea may contain high amounts of alkenylbenzenes such as estragole, while the health risk could not yet be conclusively assessed.¹⁰ See bronze fennel for more on estragole.

Keeping it

Specialty Produce says fresh bronze fennel keeps up to 5 days in the refrigerator.⁵ Illinois Extension says fennel foliage can be air-dried and stored for later use.⁶ Both are general guidance, not measured shelf lives.

Not yet measured

• Whether bronze fennel’s fronds or seeds differ in aroma compounds from green fennel’s.
• How long the fronds can cook before their aroma fades.
• A tested ratio for fronds in butters, dressings or marinades.

Related

• Bronze fennel
• Fennel pollen uses
• Fennel pollen
• Fennel seed
• Fennel seed substitutes
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• Fennel seed vs. anise seed
• Caraway seeds vs. fennel seeds