1
00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:10,039
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Favor production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,360
Speaker 1: I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. And today we're

3
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,880
Speaker 1: talking about Fennel. And it's been a super educational one

4
00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:21,680
Speaker 1: for me because I literally did not know what it

5
00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,880
Speaker 1: was when you suggested it. Lauren. Oh wow, I would like,

6
00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,400
Speaker 1: like really like, oh my god. Okay, so ay, I

7
00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,640
Speaker 1: promised that you've had it you Yeah, I promised that

8
00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,680
Speaker 1: you have. You've probably had the vegetable part of it,

9
00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,879
Speaker 1: and you've definitely had the spice part of it. And

10
00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,320
Speaker 1: this explains your confusion when I when I suggested the

11
00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,760
Speaker 1: topic as a alternate to Annis, which um, which a

12
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:53,160
Speaker 1: lovely listener wrote in requesting and I started looking into

13
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,160
Speaker 1: it and there's so so much like animalogical historical confusion

14
00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:04,400
Speaker 1: between Annis and star Nice and like your star Annis,

15
00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,119
Speaker 1: how do you? I've always said star Nice, but it's

16
00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:11,880
Speaker 1: Annis anyway. Um. Yeah, there's the even beyond my pronunciation confusion,

17
00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,640
Speaker 1: like the words historically have been mixed up a lot.

18
00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,120
Speaker 1: And so I was like, not today, satan um, but

19
00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:24,240
Speaker 1: let's do Fennel um and he was like, okay, I

20
00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,520
Speaker 1: literally could not have told you anything about it. I

21
00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,240
Speaker 1: did not know what it was. I was like, it

22
00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:32,920
Speaker 1: could be a nerve, it could be a plant. I

23
00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 1: don't know. I don't know, but when seeing pictures of it,

24
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,680
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, I've seen that before. Yeah, it's

25
00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,880
Speaker 1: it's in grocery stores. It's it's fairly common. And gosh,

26
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,480
Speaker 1: I love it. Um, I love I love licorice flavored

27
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:52,320
Speaker 1: things in general, and like like a thin sliced fennel root,

28
00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,160
Speaker 1: like fennel bulb, salad um with them with supreme citrus.

29
00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,560
Speaker 1: Oh gosh, one of my favorite things on the whole

30
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,880
Speaker 1: planet that sound delicious. It's one of those things where

31
00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,960
Speaker 1: I'm like, I can't really I have no plate context

32
00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 1: or what that would be, but it sounds like. Well, um,

33
00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:22,960
Speaker 1: I guess this brings us to our question, Yes, what

34
00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:29,320
Speaker 1: is it? Well? Uh, Fennel is a vegetable in the

35
00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,200
Speaker 1: carrot family um apace. I think, yeah. It's known for

36
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,240
Speaker 1: its Anna's flavor. The botanical name is a phiniculum vulgarre,

37
00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:42,400
Speaker 1: and it grows a varyingly thick white bulb above ground

38
00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,560
Speaker 1: um about the size of an onion, and like an onion,

39
00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:49,480
Speaker 1: each layer of that bulb is a support structure for

40
00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,480
Speaker 1: a stalk um that that shoots up from that bulb

41
00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,079
Speaker 1: with a spray of these tiny feathery green leaves that

42
00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:57,880
Speaker 1: that looks like a like like dil kind of and

43
00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,640
Speaker 1: it is related to dill and closely enough that I

44
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,519
Speaker 1: have seen this warning on gardening blogs. You you should

45
00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,760
Speaker 1: not plant dill and fennel next to each other because

46
00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,920
Speaker 1: they might cross pollinate and you could wind up with

47
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:14,080
Speaker 1: uncertain flavors. You don't cross the streams unless there's a

48
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,680
Speaker 1: marshmallow giant then you do. Then you do, but otherwise

49
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:25,320
Speaker 1: otherwise don't. Yeah. Um, those stocks will also send off

50
00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,400
Speaker 1: flowers UM, these pretty little sprays like like kind of

51
00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,800
Speaker 1: like little fireworks UM that will develop these small oblong

52
00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,720
Speaker 1: seeds that are their pointy on both ends about the

53
00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,800
Speaker 1: size of like a narrow sesame seed something in that range. Um.

54
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,640
Speaker 1: And all of these parts, the bulb, the stocks, the leaves,

55
00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,240
Speaker 1: the flowers, the seeds are all edible and are all

56
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,920
Speaker 1: used in various cuisines. Um. The bulbs and stocks are

57
00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,840
Speaker 1: juicy and tender, sort of like celery um, and taste

58
00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,320
Speaker 1: of vegetable and bitter and a little bit sweet. Um.

59
00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,080
Speaker 1: You can use them raw um like in salads or

60
00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,840
Speaker 1: or roast them on their own or cook them into dishes.

61
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,560
Speaker 1: The leaves taste a brighter and are really great garnish.

62
00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,120
Speaker 1: The seeds have more like a warm earthiness and are

63
00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,880
Speaker 1: used either whole or ground. Is a spice to flavor

64
00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,240
Speaker 1: both savory and sweet dishes. And uh, and yeah, all

65
00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,080
Speaker 1: have at least a little of that um kind of

66
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,960
Speaker 1: bitter sweet annis twinge like like like licorice. And uh,

67
00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:27,560
Speaker 1: Lauren bought a little show and tell for me. Yeah, yeah,

68
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,400
Speaker 1: I have a little jar of of fennel seeds from

69
00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,200
Speaker 1: my cupboard, um, which I chewed on some of while

70
00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,560
Speaker 1: I was writing this outline. Oh, there you go. Yeah,

71
00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,160
Speaker 1: I'm definitely gonna seek this out now that I know

72
00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:44,799
Speaker 1: what it is. Oh, I look forward to you experimenting

73
00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,120
Speaker 1: with it. Oh, fennel salad. Really, it's it's it's aces

74
00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,040
Speaker 1: and some of the recipes I found while I was

75
00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,520
Speaker 1: writing this outline or oh they looked so good. It

76
00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:58,080
Speaker 1: was a very hungry outline. Okay, I'm excited. I'm excited. Yeah, Okay,

77
00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,400
Speaker 1: I'll send you some legs. Okay. Um. There are at

78
00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,000
Speaker 1: least five varieties of fennel that have been bred for

79
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,200
Speaker 1: for sweetness or bitterness or the size of the bulb

80
00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,159
Speaker 1: or whatever it is that people are looking for. It

81
00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,120
Speaker 1: does also grow wild um and can be super invasive.

82
00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:19,000
Speaker 1: Also apparently, swallowtail butterflies really like it. Oh yeah, swallow

83
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,120
Speaker 1: tail butterflies. Uh huh um. Around the Mediterranean, fennel is

84
00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,080
Speaker 1: often used as a vegetable to accompany fish dishes UM

85
00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,880
Speaker 1: and as a spice in breads and cakes and candies.

86
00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,960
Speaker 1: The spice is often used in sausage, especially like Italian

87
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,800
Speaker 1: style fresh sausage, like sweet Italian sausage. UM. It's a

88
00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,240
Speaker 1: primary flavor ingredient in UM. It shows up in ferments

89
00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,919
Speaker 1: like sweet pickles and saur kraut. It's part of the

90
00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,360
Speaker 1: flavoring in sambuca. UM. It goes really well tomato, and

91
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,600
Speaker 1: can just give like an extra something something to to

92
00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,440
Speaker 1: a lot of sauces and roasts. You gotta have that

93
00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:55,839
Speaker 1: extra something something, you do. Um. Fennel seed also shows

94
00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,000
Speaker 1: up in most recipes for Chinese five spice, which is

95
00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,400
Speaker 1: not literally five ices um, but rather indicates a blend

96
00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:07,040
Speaker 1: of the five flavors. Five flavors. M. Wait, we should

97
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:08,680
Speaker 1: do we should do a whole episode on that. It's

98
00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:17,320
Speaker 1: definitely worthwhile. Oh okay. And in Indian cuisines, um, the

99
00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,440
Speaker 1: seeds may be used a hole to season rice. They

100
00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,040
Speaker 1: show up in like spiced tea blends and in curries. Um.

101
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,400
Speaker 1: They're sometimes chewed as a breath freshener, especially after a meal. Um.

102
00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,680
Speaker 1: And you may have seen in in Indian restaurants near

103
00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,680
Speaker 1: the cash register, like a little dish of candied fennel

104
00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:35,000
Speaker 1: seeds that you're meant to take a little scoop of

105
00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,640
Speaker 1: and and and chews. Yeah, just a nice little after

106
00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:44,159
Speaker 1: meal thing, okay. Um. Fennel is also a popular toothpaste

107
00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:50,760
Speaker 1: flavor outside of the United States. Well, I find strange

108
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,080
Speaker 1: as a toothpaste but um, but oh, but you have

109
00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:59,280
Speaker 1: the mint thing. I know you should totally try fennel toothpasteing. Okay,

110
00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,920
Speaker 1: I mean, I I need a solution. I've been dealing

111
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,240
Speaker 1: with this for years and I'm just too lazy to

112
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:13,120
Speaker 1: seek out something else. So alright, then old toothpaste perhaps, Yeah, yeah,

113
00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,480
Speaker 1: we we have a tube in my house my roommate. Yeah,

114
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:23,560
Speaker 1: from the Netherlands, I think. Yeah. All right, okay, Well

115
00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:28,680
Speaker 1: what about the nutrition? I mean, you know, as as

116
00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,480
Speaker 1: with anything, it depends on what you do with it.

117
00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,480
Speaker 1: But fennel, unto itself, is good for you. You know.

118
00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,720
Speaker 1: It's it's a vegetable. It's low in calories, high end flavor,

119
00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,160
Speaker 1: lots of fiber and vitamins and minerals, all that good stuff. UM.

120
00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,520
Speaker 1: Fennel has also been used medicinally forever pretty much UM,

121
00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:50,160
Speaker 1: and research does indicate the compounds and fennel maybe antibacterial, antifungal,

122
00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,160
Speaker 1: and anti inflammatory. It is especially often used to help

123
00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,600
Speaker 1: relieve stomach or gut pains, and research has shown that

124
00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,680
Speaker 1: it may help relax those souls if they're cramping. So

125
00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,000
Speaker 1: like if you're gassy or something like that, then um,

126
00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,520
Speaker 1: it can help you just just just chill out, just

127
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 1: chill out and relieve some of that pain. As always, UM,

128
00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,520
Speaker 1: human bodies are complicated. More research needs to be done

129
00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 1: before incorporating a medicinal dose of anything into your diet.

130
00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,440
Speaker 1: Check with the doctor or other medical professional. Of the

131
00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:28,760
Speaker 1: saber motto, Um, we have a couple of numbers for you.

132
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,840
Speaker 1: The US imports most of its commercial fennel seeds from Egypt.

133
00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,199
Speaker 1: Egypt is the top exporter of fennel in general, UM,

134
00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:42,440
Speaker 1: but India is the top producer and the top importer um.

135
00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,720
Speaker 1: Global production is over a million tons a year. Wow.

136
00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:51,600
Speaker 1: Alright Finnel, alright, uh, Finnel has got some interesting history

137
00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,760
Speaker 1: to go with it. It does. But before we get

138
00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:56,440
Speaker 1: into that, we are going to get into a quick

139
00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:07,839
Speaker 1: break for awards from our sponsor and we're back. Thank

140
00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:14,680
Speaker 1: you sponsor, Yes, thank you. So uh Finnel, Fennel, Fennel, Finnel.

141
00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:16,640
Speaker 1: It's one of those words that every time I say it,

142
00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:22,520
Speaker 1: I'm like, this is correct. Fennel most likely originated in

143
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,080
Speaker 1: Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, which is in southern Europe.

144
00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,600
Speaker 1: But a long time ago, a long time ago. I

145
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,800
Speaker 1: had a hard time finding more info than that. I

146
00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,560
Speaker 1: feel like it probably exists, and maybe I was miss googling,

147
00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,319
Speaker 1: as you say, Lauren, but it was not in the

148
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,240
Speaker 1: top like twenty search results, so I I couldn't find

149
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,880
Speaker 1: anything more specific either. But just it's been around for

150
00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,319
Speaker 1: a minute. It's been around for a minute. Ancient Egypsuans

151
00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:54,199
Speaker 1: used fennel medicinally and culinarily. Ancient Romans often ate it raw,

152
00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,160
Speaker 1: and the Epicus included a recipe for eating it alongside

153
00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:03,160
Speaker 1: boiled melon. Huh. Yeah. The ancient Chinese used it for

154
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:08,120
Speaker 1: snake bites um. In Greek mythology, finnel stock housed the

155
00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:14,320
Speaker 1: fire Prometheus smuggle to humans. What Yeah? And in four

156
00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:19,199
Speaker 1: hundred ninety b C. When f s of Athens ran

157
00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:22,800
Speaker 1: one fifty miles to Sparta over two days to drum

158
00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,360
Speaker 1: up soldiers for the upcoming battle of Marathon and Persia,

159
00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:30,040
Speaker 1: he carried a stock of fennel. And yes, this is

160
00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:35,600
Speaker 1: where the marathon the race comes from. In some stories

161
00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,440
Speaker 1: the battle was fought on a field of fennel, and

162
00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:44,240
Speaker 1: perhaps because of this fennel came to symbolize victory. Huh.

163
00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,600
Speaker 1: The word fennel does come from the Latin word from

164
00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:51,000
Speaker 1: the plant um, which I probably mispronounced earlier. It's now

165
00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,760
Speaker 1: used as that genus name um. And that word itself

166
00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,559
Speaker 1: came from the Latin word for hey. People think maybe

167
00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,800
Speaker 1: because both have kind of a strong, like like warm,

168
00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,880
Speaker 1: grassy kind of scent. So I can see that. Yeah.

169
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,880
Speaker 1: British poet Robert Browning in the nineteenth century wrote about

170
00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:14,160
Speaker 1: marathon fight. I shall with our foremost wherever this finel

171
00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,640
Speaker 1: may grow, pippitys proclaimed. Little did he know the run

172
00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,560
Speaker 1: from Marathon to Athens would be his last as like

173
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,000
Speaker 1: wine through Clay Joy in his blood, bursting his heart,

174
00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:29,160
Speaker 1: he died. I don't think that's how it was meant

175
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,760
Speaker 1: to be read, but that is how I read it.

176
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,839
Speaker 1: So I you know, Robert Browning isn't here to tell

177
00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,560
Speaker 1: you not to that's true. Although if I have a

178
00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:43,679
Speaker 1: poet haunting me later, I will have some inkling is

179
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:52,000
Speaker 1: a poet haunting you. I love that idea immediately. I

180
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,480
Speaker 1: I love the idea of it. I would not want

181
00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,800
Speaker 1: it happening to me. Poets art and I say this

182
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:09,040
Speaker 1: as like a former poetry human um poets are modeling. Yes, uh,

183
00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:11,840
Speaker 1: they'd they'd be real good at hunting though. Yeah, I

184
00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:13,240
Speaker 1: mean I don't want it to happen, but I like

185
00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,960
Speaker 1: the idea, kind of silly like here, I am just

186
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,840
Speaker 1: scare you through and through like you know, yeah, like

187
00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:26,600
Speaker 1: like in in Iambic. Yeah, exactly, pretty good, exactly all right. Um.

188
00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,679
Speaker 1: Throughout history, finel has been used to lose weight. It's

189
00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,040
Speaker 1: been used for fasting during lent, to induce administration and lactation,

190
00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:40,400
Speaker 1: and yep, as an aphrodisiac. Yeah, and some people have

191
00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,240
Speaker 1: used it for a long time for their breath and

192
00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:47,440
Speaker 1: also as a flavoring for gin. Yeah, okay, yeah, and uh,

193
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:49,559
Speaker 1: a lot of those. A lot of those medicinal things

194
00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,280
Speaker 1: have also been used for um for livestock as well.

195
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,000
Speaker 1: I know that it's been used to treat um cows

196
00:12:55,400 --> 00:13:00,320
Speaker 1: having lactation problems for a long time. Yeah, or old

197
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,240
Speaker 1: pal Plenty of the Elder listed twenty two finnel remedies,

198
00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:08,120
Speaker 1: but not heaven from it for a toothache, No, he

199
00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,840
Speaker 1: claimed a man who packed a rotten tooth with finnel

200
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:16,160
Speaker 1: jumped off a cliff. Definitely don't do that. Okay, check

201
00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,800
Speaker 1: you know. Correlation causation arguments could be made, but this

202
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,199
Speaker 1: he very adamant that you shouldn't do it. Many other

203
00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:32,360
Speaker 1: famous ancient thinkers. I believed finnel stimulated blood flow, and honestly,

204
00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,199
Speaker 1: it's been used for all kinds of things. I feel

205
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,679
Speaker 1: like you could just randomly think of a medical ailment

206
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:45,080
Speaker 1: and finnel at some point was used for it. Yeah.

207
00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,080
Speaker 1: In ancient Syrene, which was a Greek colony in North

208
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,880
Speaker 1: Africa which is where modern day Libya is, there was

209
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:56,840
Speaker 1: a giant now extinct varietal of finnel named silphium, and

210
00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,800
Speaker 1: it made people so much money, Like fortunes. Yeah, it

211
00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,199
Speaker 1: was so important to the economy there. It appeared on coins,

212
00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,319
Speaker 1: sometimes alongside an image of a woman suggestively gesturing towards

213
00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,560
Speaker 1: her genitals. And that might be because it was popularly

214
00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:19,120
Speaker 1: viewed as a contraceptive uh and ancient equivalent to the

215
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:24,360
Speaker 1: morning after pill. Some science postulates that it actually might

216
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:29,640
Speaker 1: have worked to an extent. Another relative of fennel, as

217
00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,360
Speaker 1: a fetida, was used as a less effective replacement for

218
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,520
Speaker 1: this giant varietal of fennel. The nickname for this plant

219
00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:46,320
Speaker 1: was devil's dungue. Devil's dongue. Yep, that's because the smell

220
00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:51,040
Speaker 1: was so bad lauren uh. In the early century, some

221
00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,320
Speaker 1: viewed this as a cure for everything because nothing, well

222
00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,320
Speaker 1: nothing would come near it because it smells so badly

223
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:03,560
Speaker 1: in their minds. Include according to the US Pharmacopeia, the

224
00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:08,680
Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen flu Spanish flu would not come near it.

225
00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:13,080
Speaker 1: Some poor school children were made to wear satchels of

226
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,000
Speaker 1: of this stuff around their next to keep away all

227
00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:21,360
Speaker 1: kinds of things, all kinds of bacteria, illnesses that must

228
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,880
Speaker 1: have really smelled badly. Yeah, devil's dung what a name.

229
00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,280
Speaker 1: It's evocative, right, it is? It is during the seven

230
00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:34,280
Speaker 1: hundred CE, Charlemagne pushed fennel as an essential for every

231
00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,080
Speaker 1: imperial garden. Fennel seeds were one of the spices traded

232
00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,520
Speaker 1: along the Silk Road, which solidified its use in cuisines

233
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,360
Speaker 1: from China, through India, the Middle East, to the Mediterranean

234
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,560
Speaker 1: and up into Europe. Speaking of Europe, Europeans during the

235
00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,240
Speaker 1: Middle Ages might have hung fennel over their door rays

236
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:55,080
Speaker 1: as a protection against witches and evil spirits, and at

237
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,440
Speaker 1: some point um in In Italy, fennel became a symbol

238
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:03,640
Speaker 1: of flattery and foppishness um, and the Italian word for

239
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,920
Speaker 1: it finoccio i, I believe, is slang for gay yeah

240
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,920
Speaker 1: our gays and homosexual yeah listeners right in if you

241
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,320
Speaker 1: know yeah um. Colonial Americans might have hung finnel and

242
00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,640
Speaker 1: windows to air out in closed spaces in the spring.

243
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,160
Speaker 1: Though Thomas Jefferson grew it and well known American literary

244
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:30,200
Speaker 1: horticulturist Bernard Mamahon mentioned it in eighteen oh six, it

245
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,000
Speaker 1: was pretty rare until the eighteen nineties, and even then

246
00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:38,000
Speaker 1: it was mostly found in cities. During the nineteenth century,

247
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,880
Speaker 1: the bulbo stock of dwarf fennel became popular in some

248
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,320
Speaker 1: places as a vegetable, and it was used in in

249
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:49,040
Speaker 1: the same way salary was largely. Yeah, and and I

250
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,080
Speaker 1: would say that it is one of those um vegetables

251
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,720
Speaker 1: that became very popular in America in the seventies and

252
00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,960
Speaker 1: eighties as part of that greater focus on on home cooking.

253
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:05,680
Speaker 1: But with with a with a slightly slightly refined that yeah,

254
00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:12,359
Speaker 1: I yeah, I would, even though I say this is

255
00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,600
Speaker 1: someone who literally didn't know what it is, I would

256
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,840
Speaker 1: imagine that right now as there is well maybe not

257
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,720
Speaker 1: right right now because we're in a pandemic, but in general,

258
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:29,000
Speaker 1: as people are focused on perhaps more local ingredients and

259
00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:34,480
Speaker 1: experimenting with newer ingredients, I would think that fennel is

260
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,520
Speaker 1: having a bit of a resurgence. I've seen I've seen

261
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,920
Speaker 1: it on a lot of menus around town. Um yeah,

262
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,520
Speaker 1: largely largely in a salad kind of capacity, where again,

263
00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,240
Speaker 1: it is delightful. I gotta try it just adds this

264
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,320
Speaker 1: just really nice like light sweetness to two dishes. That's

265
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,560
Speaker 1: that's a good crunch. It's really pleasant. I do love

266
00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:01,720
Speaker 1: a good crunch. That's what I'm my primary favorite things

267
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,000
Speaker 1: about popcorn, which is one of my very favorite foods.

268
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,360
Speaker 1: I like the crunch, the crunch. The crunch is key.

269
00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,560
Speaker 1: The crunch is key, and you know what, cereal crunchy.

270
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:17,040
Speaker 1: I've got a crunch thing. That's okay, that's I mean,

271
00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:22,639
Speaker 1: most humans do. It's it's pleasurable, it's nice, Thank you, Loren.

272
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,040
Speaker 1: But now I'm thinking, like, why, like, is there any

273
00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,240
Speaker 1: research into into why we like the crunch? Is it?

274
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,000
Speaker 1: Is it? Like? Are we like like, oh, yes, we

275
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,240
Speaker 1: crunch the skulls of our enemies between our teeth or

276
00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,320
Speaker 1: I you know, my mind went there first as well,

277
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,480
Speaker 1: and I love that that's where both of our minds

278
00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,240
Speaker 1: went first. There is research on it, and I've read it,

279
00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,240
Speaker 1: but I cannot offer more than that. I can't remember

280
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,200
Speaker 1: at all, but it exists. I feel like when we

281
00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,320
Speaker 1: were talking about like Derrito's or something like that, that's

282
00:18:54,359 --> 00:19:01,760
Speaker 1: something that I read about. Yeah, but you're engaging perhaps, Yeah,

283
00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,000
Speaker 1: you know, future episodes. There you go, there you go, Yes,

284
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:11,080
Speaker 1: why crunchy, It'll be a whole thing. Well that is

285
00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,760
Speaker 1: perhaps obviously all that we have to say about Fennel

286
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,600
Speaker 1: right now. Yes, but we do have listener mail for you.

287
00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:19,959
Speaker 1: We do, and we will get into that as soon

288
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,840
Speaker 1: as we get back from one more quick break for

289
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:33,600
Speaker 1: a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes,

290
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:44,000
Speaker 1: thank you, and we're back with I gotta say it's

291
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,879
Speaker 1: hard to do one for something. You're very ud I was.

292
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,399
Speaker 1: I was thinking real hard. I was half expecting you

293
00:19:53,480 --> 00:20:00,520
Speaker 1: to do. Like listener mail, I tried to capture the

294
00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,040
Speaker 1: shape like it's kind of frauns up here in a

295
00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,600
Speaker 1: bulb down at the bottom. Yeah, yeah, no, I followed, Yeah, yeah,

296
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,600
Speaker 1: Well you're you're good, all right, You're you. You're all

297
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,840
Speaker 1: my wavelength and I always appreciate it. I have a

298
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:21,600
Speaker 1: lot of practice. That's true. That's true. Uh. Savannah wrote

299
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,320
Speaker 1: just listen to your mustard and Sarakraut episodes and knew

300
00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,200
Speaker 1: I had to write, I have been to the Mustard

301
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,200
Speaker 1: Museum in Middleton. Yeah. I know, I don't have any

302
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,160
Speaker 1: pictures to share, but believe me, it is amazing. The Cross,

303
00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,640
Speaker 1: Wisconsin has a huge October Fest every year canceled this year,

304
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,480
Speaker 1: where you can sample many traditional mustards and sarakrauts. Another

305
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,280
Speaker 1: listener wrote in about you visiting the one in Cincinnati

306
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,200
Speaker 1: and if you ever go visit, you should come to

307
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,320
Speaker 1: Octoberfest here. While you're in the Midwest, I would love

308
00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:54,520
Speaker 1: to show you my beautiful city and tell you all

309
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,479
Speaker 1: about the best food places. A quick note about your

310
00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,640
Speaker 1: kool Aid episode. I believe it was Annie who wanted

311
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,399
Speaker 1: a cool laid CONFULU crossover, and I have delivered. I

312
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:05,240
Speaker 1: did not make this, but here is a link to

313
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,200
Speaker 1: a site where you can buy cafol Aid shirts or

314
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:13,000
Speaker 1: other merchandise. Also, it's excellent. Thank you. I was so

315
00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,560
Speaker 1: sad listening to your salt and Pepper shaker episode because

316
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:17,560
Speaker 1: I have a very large collection of Kitchi salt and

317
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,720
Speaker 1: pepper shakers. Unfortunately, they are all packed up because we're

318
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:22,720
Speaker 1: going to move but didn't and I don't want to

319
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,320
Speaker 1: unpack everything. My favorite set is a ceramic fish and pan,

320
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,959
Speaker 1: the fish holding the salt and the pan holding the pepper.

321
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,880
Speaker 1: The fish sits on the pan like it is being fried.

322
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,159
Speaker 1: I wish I could send you pictures, because I know

323
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,119
Speaker 1: you would find them delightful. Instead, I am sending a

324
00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:43,600
Speaker 1: picture of my St. Bernard, named Kingsley after Kingsley shackle

325
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:48,160
Speaker 1: Bolt from Harry Potter. Of course, also very solid picture. Well,

326
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:54,520
Speaker 1: we'll take both salt and pepper shakers and pet pictures, always, always, always, always, always,

327
00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,680
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, yes, and all the kool aid man

328
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,520
Speaker 1: A lot of you have been sending cafool aid. Also like,

329
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,760
Speaker 1: we're not the only ones who think he's creepy. It

330
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,399
Speaker 1: turns out he is a villain in multiple aspects, in

331
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:15,320
Speaker 1: multiple mediums. So we were onto something, Lauren. Yeah, yeah,

332
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,159
Speaker 1: well it's it's not our fault. I mean, this is

333
00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,360
Speaker 1: we were picking up something that's just clearly there right right.

334
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:29,080
Speaker 1: We did not invent this. Um Amanda wrote, I'm a

335
00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:30,760
Speaker 1: little slow in writing to you, but at the end

336
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,719
Speaker 1: of your recent ish Regune and Marjoram episode, a listener

337
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,200
Speaker 1: writer I believe their name was, but I'm not quite

338
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,560
Speaker 1: certain what you said mentioned all the consumables from the

339
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,359
Speaker 1: Fallout video game universe and was super excited to hear

340
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,080
Speaker 1: from a fellow Fallout fan. I thought you guys, of

341
00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: all people, might appreciate our dedication to the Fallout series,

342
00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,480
Speaker 1: and I would like to hear about our recent ish. Oops.

343
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,159
Speaker 1: This was apparently two years ago, ha ha. Endeavor to

344
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 1: celebrate the latest Fallout games launch, my husband and I

345
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 1: spent a month or so cry afting decorations to turn

346
00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: our family room into the opening scene of the game,

347
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,359
Speaker 1: follow out seventy six, the Reclamation Day party and preparing

348
00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:09,320
Speaker 1: a menu with everything I could think of how to

349
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:15,320
Speaker 1: emulate in real life. The menu included roast death claw,

350
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:18,359
Speaker 1: an entire prime rib the husband. The husband insisted this

351
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:26,120
Speaker 1: was absolutely necessary. Instat mash, mashed potatoes, tato tomato, provincial carrots,

352
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,720
Speaker 1: rainbow carrot sticks. Because it's always good to eat a vegetable. Youmyum,

353
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:31,960
Speaker 1: deviled eggs, At deviled eggs, died a weed, a weird

354
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,720
Speaker 1: green color, dandy boy, apple apples, apple chips, mole, rat chunks,

355
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:41,679
Speaker 1: breaded pork bites, iguana bites, chicken cobabs, fancy lad snack cakes,

356
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:47,199
Speaker 1: chocolate coated marshmallow cookie, dessert cakes, sugar bombs, poppy show checks,

357
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,200
Speaker 1: cereal coated and chocolate then tossed in in icing sugar,

358
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,879
Speaker 1: Nuka Cola Sunset sasaprilla, and Nuko Coola Quantum relabeled glass

359
00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 1: bottle coke root beer and see picture and Koolaid sidebar

360
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,639
Speaker 1: at the end regarding Nuko Cola Quantum. Okay, so put

361
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,800
Speaker 1: a pin in that, y'all. If you're familiar with the

362
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:09,000
Speaker 1: game series, these are very iconic food items throughout the series.

363
00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,920
Speaker 1: This also included setting up four TVs and four ps

364
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,119
Speaker 1: fours so we could all take turns trying out the

365
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,640
Speaker 1: game together. It's an mm O. We did, however, run

366
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,400
Speaker 1: into some some internet issues trying to run for game

367
00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,880
Speaker 1: consoles off of our usually adequate but not stellar WiFi.

368
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,879
Speaker 1: It was pretty amazing, but even though there were like

369
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,679
Speaker 1: ten of us, because a whole prime rib is kind

370
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,240
Speaker 1: of large, we ended up having to eat leftover roast

371
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 1: beef for like a week afterwards. But there are worse

372
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:43,680
Speaker 1: things in life. Uh, kool Aid sidebar regarding your recent episode,

373
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:46,639
Speaker 1: My favorite coool aid recipe is taking an envelope of

374
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,040
Speaker 1: the unsweatened powder. My faith is the ice blue because

375
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,760
Speaker 1: blue drinks are the best place your finger over the

376
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,080
Speaker 1: bottom of a not super narrow funnel. Large piping bag

377
00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,640
Speaker 1: tip works well to pour the envelope of laid into

378
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,560
Speaker 1: the funnel very carefully and quickly, emphasis on the quickly.

379
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,960
Speaker 1: Position the funnel over and open two lead bottle of

380
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,399
Speaker 1: sprite or seven up. Release your finger, dumping the powder

381
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,399
Speaker 1: into the pop. You have about four seconds to get

382
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,680
Speaker 1: the cap back onto the bottle before the whole thing

383
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,600
Speaker 1: turns into an artificially colored volcano, which is just as

384
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,080
Speaker 1: messy as you are imagining it to be. Definitely a

385
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,400
Speaker 1: very exciting drink to make. Then, once everything is secure,

386
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:30,919
Speaker 1: flip the bottle a few times to mix everything up

387
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,320
Speaker 1: a little and refrigerate until party time. It's a very

388
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:36,440
Speaker 1: fun party drink. I used to make batches of it

389
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 1: and bring it to all the parties. Alas, the unsweetened

390
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,920
Speaker 1: kol Aid envelopes are no longer available in Canada, but

391
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:43,960
Speaker 1: people do bring them up from the States and sell

392
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,920
Speaker 1: them at an up charge, usually at fancy candy stores.

393
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,880
Speaker 1: But they're much harder to find, and I'm no longer

394
00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,440
Speaker 1: twenty something, so it's been a while since I've made some.

395
00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,720
Speaker 1: We'll need to find some kool Aid packets and make

396
00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,800
Speaker 1: a batch again. Bringing it back to fallout, I did

397
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,680
Speaker 1: use an ice blue kool Aid sprite mixed to create

398
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,280
Speaker 1: the nucleola quantum. It was absolutely beautiful when poured into

399
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,000
Speaker 1: the bottle, which I had rigged up to also glow

400
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 1: from underneath. Great times. That's amazing. Oh that's so fun.

401
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:20,240
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, you listeners are so creative. That's amazing.

402
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,800
Speaker 1: That and that is totally like all of that is

403
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,520
Speaker 1: stuff that like I can like see Annie like making

404
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,760
Speaker 1: mental notes for like doing all of this in the future. Yes,

405
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:34,320
Speaker 1: this is this is like if I had a party

406
00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:40,280
Speaker 1: planning business, it would specifically be this only nerdy type

407
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 1: things and tons of tons of plenty. But yeah, I

408
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 1: love this, and please listeners keep sending in your your

409
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:54,760
Speaker 1: party ideas, your nerdy party ideas. Yeah, yes, all day,

410
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:59,119
Speaker 1: every day. Yes, thanks to both of those listeners writing in.

411
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:00,600
Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can.

412
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,200
Speaker 1: Our email is Hello at savor pod dot com, or

413
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,160
Speaker 1: you can get in touch with us via social media.

414
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:10,040
Speaker 1: We are on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, all three places.

415
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,080
Speaker 1: Our name is at savor pod, and we do hope

416
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 1: to hear from you. Savor is production of I Heart Radio.

417
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,119
Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, you can visit the

418
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,760
Speaker 1: I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

419
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:23,200
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our super

420
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,240
Speaker 1: producers Dylan Bagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening,

421
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:28,000
Speaker 1: and we hope that lots more good things are coming

422
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:28,360
Speaker 1: your way.