280342 Mon Oct 17 18:02:49 -0700 2005 6 31 Home Cooking 0 1489005 Hi! My market sells something that I thought looks like fennel with frothy leaves (sort of like dill) and a white bulb on the bottom. They call it anise. Is this anise or is it fennel? I just saw a recipe on TV that calls for fennel so wanted to try it! Cheers, Maya Mon Oct 17 18:02:49 -0700 2005 0 maya 1 1489008 Most grocers use the name interchangably, like yam and sweet potato. It is labled anise but if your recipe calls for fresh fennel that is what you buy. Mon Oct 17 18:06:12 -0700 2005 1489005 0 Candy 1 1489024 yep, it is. fresh fennel or anise will do the trick--as long as it's got that white bulb (which recipes call for anyway), you're good to go. Mon Oct 17 19:20:15 -0700 2005 1489005 0 wasabi 1 1489030 They both taste very similar and a lot of grocer just call fennel bulb, anise. From what you have described is probably fennel bulb rather than anise. They are somewhat different, anise is member of the parsley family and fennel is more of a meditterranean root vegetable. Mon Oct 17 19:47:33 -0700 2005 1489005 0 theSauce 2 1489082 Actually, fennel is not a root vegetable. The bulb develops at the base of the stalk, above ground level. It is called finoccio in Italian, I believe. There is another version that grows quite invasively here in the Oakland-SF Bay Area that does not develop the bulb at the stem but gets very tall and has seeds and pollen with a lovely licorice-like flavor and a deep tap root that can take years to eradicate. I'm not sure what it's called but I'm happy to be rid of it. Liz Tue Oct 18 04:04:27 -0700 2005 1489030 0 Liz 1 1489093 Always buy fennel that has a short, round bulb at the bottom of the stalks. Fennel is dioecious, each plant is of one gender, male or female. The round bulb is female and sweeter than the long, thick stalks of the male plant. Why am I not surprised? Fennel (finocchio) has the scientific name, Foeniculum vulgare. Anise has the scientific name, Pimplinella anisum. Both are members of the carrot family. Tue Oct 18 08:29:32 -0700 2005 1489005 0 ChiliDude 1 1489353 According to Purdue horticultural dept, they are the same when the terms are used to describe the vegetable. Link: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/NewCropsNews/93-3-1/fennel.html Wed Oct 19 12:54:59 -0700 2005 1489005 0 Christine