Fennel via Food Thinkers @flickr

Fennel, you’ve may pass it daily in the produce section, but do you know truly what it is, how to choose it, and how to use it?  Surprisingly many foodies and laypeople alike are a bit intimidated by this gorgeous feathery green herb.  Fear not!  Savory Tv is here to help with all you need to know.

Fennel is a light green perennial bulb with stalks similar to celery, feather like thready  green leaves, and flowers.  The flowers produce the seeds that you commonly see in spice bottles.   All of the parts are edible, and the seeds have a distinct anise or licorice type flavor, while the bulbs, stalks, and leaves are a bit more subtle.  A close relation to dill, parsley, and carrots,  fennel contains a significant source of vitamin C, fiber, folate, and several minerals.

In cooking, often the stalks or stems are used in soups or stocks.  The bulbs can be cooked in any number of ways, braised, grilled, sauteed etc., as well as eaten raw.  Braised fennel pairs particularly well with fish or seafood dishes. The tender dill like leaves (sometimes referred to as fronds) can be used as an herb seasoning for almost anything, including meats, seafood, veggies, dressings, dips and sauces.  Fennel can be frozen or dried, but it will lose a large amount of its aromatic flavor in the process, so it’s always a wiser choice to consume it fresh.

How to choose, slice, and prepare it?  We have a great video with Melbourne Chef Shane Delia that will show you how.

We leave you with one last random fennel fact:  In Greek mythology, Atlas’s brother Prometheus, who was a titan, stole fire from Zeus to give to mortals, hiding the fire sparks in a giant stalk of fennel.  In true mythical form, that of course generated huge torturous paybacks from Zeus!   Read the full drama here.

Fish Sauce, you may have heard of it, use it in cooking, or cringe when you hear the words, but do you really know what it is and how it is made?  Our ingredient spotlight today will shed light on all things fish sauce, including:  ingredients, what makes it special as a flavor, and how to know when to toss an old bottle.

Ingredient wise, it all boils down to the country of origin. Fish sauce is a principal cooking ingredient for curries, sauces, pastes and condiments in Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, and several other Southeast Asian countries.  It always includes some type of fermented fish, but the type of fish varies, as well as the ingredients and spices added to it. In general, most fish sauces are made of three simple ingredients:  fish, water, and salt.   Anchovies are the most common fish used in fish sauce.

Now we’re going to get Alton Brown style geeky with you.  Fish sauce, as well as aged cheeses and meats contain glutamates, the salts of the amino acid glutamic acid.  Glutamates are flavor enhancers, and are the essential component of the hard to describe savory flavor known as Umami.  So there is a scientific reason why fish sauce tastes good!

So, what brand of fish sauce is best? Of course that all depends on your personal tastes. Chef Ming Tsai recommends the Three Crabs brand, and Chowhounders here discuss several favorites, including:  Golden Boy and Tra Chang from Thailand, and Colatura di Alici from the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

Does it go bad? Listen, everything goes bad eventually, everything!  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Watch this video from Chow featuring Chef and Asian food expert Corinne Trang as she explains when it’s time to toss the sauce.