Wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill., subsp. piperitum (Ucria) Cout.) culinary uses: an overview, preliminary on-field documentation and analytical perspectives

Wild fennel is a common component of early-stage wild vegetation communities of the Mediterranean area. In Italy, wild fennel is amply used to flavour a relevant number of traditional foods, covering almost all combination of basic ingredients, from pasta, to meat, fish, mushrooms, mixed soups etc. All the plant parts are used: leaves, fresh or dried, stems, seeds and the young florets picked and dried; these latter represent an absolutely peculiar and prized product, with intense penetrating aroma, traditionally prepared in many places of central Italy. Products from wild fennel can be obtained from wild stands, home garden production and, sometimes, from small scale commercial crops. Wild fennel seeds and florets are also traded at wholesalers level. However, the supply chain is little known and poorly understood, so prices are very unstable, discouraging potential growers to establish organised crops and first processing enterprises. Wild fennel is also used in South Europe, from the Balkans to the Caucasus, where it is however often not well distinguished from dill, that is used for similar purposes. A program to enhance the knowledge of this interesting species was started in Italy, with the initial aim of thoroughly documenting traditional uses in food preparation and preliminarily analytically characterising the different plant parts at the main developmental stages.