Kitchen Spice

Fennel

SanskritMishreya, MadhurikaBotanicalFoeniculum vulgareAlso calledSaunf, Sweet fennel

A sweet, licorice-scented seed that Ayurveda prizes for kindling digestion while staying cool and gentle. Tridoshic and easy to love.

Fennel, seed

At the door of many Indian restaurants sits a little bowl of fennel seeds, sometimes candy coated, sometimes plain. You take a pinch on the way out, chew, and your mouth goes fresh and sweet. That small habit holds a lot of Ayurvedic wisdom.

Fennel is one of the rare spices that helps digestion without heating things up. Its sweet, cooling nature makes it a good match for almost everyone, and it is one of the three seeds in CCF tea.

Ayurvedic Properties

RasaTastes
  • Sweet
  • Pungent
  • Bitter
ViryaHeating or cooling
Cooling
VipakaPost-digestive effect
Sweet
AgniEffect on digestion
Gently supports agni

Sweet and cooling, it supports digestion without heat, so it suits almost everyone.

GunaQualities
  • Light
  • Oily
TridoshaEffect on Vata, Pitta and Kapha
  • Vata: decreases
  • Pitta: decreases
  • Kapha: decreases
  • decreases (calms that dosha)
  • increases (can aggravate it)
  • neutral or balancing
  • not known
  • V Vata · P Pitta · K Kapha

Fennel is considered tridoshic. It is especially helpful when pitta needs digestive support but cannot handle hot spices, and it calms the gassy, crampy side of vata.

Traditional Uses

  • Traditionally used to support comfortable digestion and ease gas after meals.
  • Traditionally used to support digestive fire without aggravating pitta.
  • Traditionally used to support comfort before and during the menstrual cycle.
  • Traditionally used to support fresh breath after eating.

How People Use It

  • FoodChew a small pinch of lightly toasted seeds after meals, or add the seeds to roasted vegetables, breads and stewed fruit.
  • TeaSteep 1 teaspoon of lightly crushed seeds in a cup of just boiled water, covered, for about 10 minutes.
  • PowderA pinch of ground fennel can stand in for cardamom in rice pudding or warm milk.
Try This

Toasted Fennel After-Dinner Mix

A homemade version of the little seed bowl by the restaurant door.

  • 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • A few cardamom pods, seeds only
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar or rock sugar (optional)
  1. Toast the fennel and coriander seeds in a dry pan over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant.
  2. Let them cool, then mix in the cardamom seeds and sugar.
  3. Store in a small jar on the table.
  4. After meals, chew about half a teaspoon slowly.

Pairs Well With

Cautions

  • Fennel seed in normal cooking and tea amounts is generally considered safe. These cautions apply to larger, concentrated amounts such as extracts and essential oil.
  • Safety research on concentrated fennel is limited, and major U.S. health references (NCCIH, Memorial Sloan Kettering) do not have a fennel monograph.
  • Fennel contains natural compounds with mild estrogen-like activity. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, or if you have a hormone-sensitive condition, keep to food amounts and ask your doctor first.
  • Do not give fennel tea or fennel products to babies or young children unless your pediatrician says it is okay.
  • Never take fennel essential oil internally.
  • Fennel belongs to the carrot and celery family. If you are allergic to those plants, avoid it.
  • If you take medication, check with your doctor before using fennel in more than culinary amounts.
  • Please consult a qualified practitioner or your doctor before using fennel therapeutically.

In Our Shop

Organic Fennel Seed

Organic Fennel Seed, from $3.75. Weighed and packed by hand at our Rockville Centre studio.

Shop Fennel →

From the Journal

Sources and Further Reading

This page shares how herbs are traditionally used in Ayurveda and other herbal traditions. It is for general education only and is not medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and herbs are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please talk with your doctor or a qualified practitioner before using herbs, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a health condition.