Could someone please enlighten me? I wish to know whether ANISE and FENNEL are one and the same spice!?

Question

Recently I saw a recipe for Chinese Five Spice; in that it is mentioned to use both Anise and Fennel. Hence, I would like to know the difference between these two spices, preferably with photos.
Thank you

Answer 1

anise is a star shaped spice and fennel is a bulbed vegetable. they both have the same flavor of licorice.

Answer 2

Anise and Fennel are two different plants, but are in fact from the same family. The seeds can be used pretty much interchangeably however, as their flavors are very similar, though from what I've read about them the fennel bulb and anise plant do have different characteristics. From what I can gather, the difference between the two would be like trying to visually compare a carrot to a parsley plant. They're both from the same family, but look a bit different different (i.e. bulb and no bulb). The fennel bulb has been mistakenly mislabeled as anise or "sweet anise" in supermarkets for a long time (much like mistakenly labeling sweet potatoes as "yams", but that's another story).
Anise:
http://www.westcountryorganicherbs.co.uk/anise.JPG

Fennel:
http://www.potomacvegetablefarms.com/images/veggies/fennel.jpg

Now, the star anise seed is a completely different spice altogether and distinctive palates can even tell the subtle difference in flavor. Star anise comes from a small native evergreen tree in China.

Answer 3

Completely unrelated. Whenever Fennel is referred to "Sweet Anise" it is a mis-labeling. Anise is a member of the parsley family in which Fennel is not. Fennel is a sweeter and more delicate. They are believed to be similar due to the resemblance of taste to licorice. Your best bet is to go to your local garden center and get a true look at the plants either by the center growing them or seed packets

Answer 4

I used to work in the produce department of a supermarket, and when i would order fennel on my truck. On the invoice it would say Anise/Fennel, same as on the shipping crates and the twist ties that we would use to bind the stalks. So my answer is that it is indeed the same spice, perhaps the difference is the age of the plant that would be the difference, tastes can change with the age of the product

Answer 5

Anise is an Egyptian herb cultivated for the liquorice flavoured oil extracted from its small seeds.
Fennel is a strong smelling perrenial herb. The greenish seeds taste of aniseed.
picture of anise at at www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anise
picture of fennel at www.homeherbs.co.uk/0/product/0/34-fennel.html
hope this helps

Answer 6

They are close in taste, but are not the same. I love both and keep both in my cupboard, but use them for very different things.

For 5spice powder, use fennel seeds and use STAR ANISE. The seed actually look like big (one inch) stars.

The 2 answerers above me are talking about the PLANT fennel, which is great too, kind of like licorice flavored celery. Nothing like the seeds though, and definitely not used in 5spice powder.

Yum.

Answer 7

There are two types of fennel. One, the vegetable, has swollen leaf bases and not a bulb. The other has no swollen leaf bases and is the one mainly used for flavouring. As far as I know the latter is perennial and comes in a red form as well.

Answer 8

Fennel seeds are sometimes confused with aniseed, which is very similar in taste and appearance, though smaller in size!

Answer 9

anise is star shaped seed -head
fennel is a bulb whose seeds can be used as a spice as well
they both have a liquorice taste
fennel can be eaten fresh, steamed, or roasted
It cooks very nicely en papillote with butter

Answer 10

The difference, I believe is seed and leaf, just like coriander and cilantro is the seed and the leaf.