Anise vs fennel
Two Apiaceae seeds with the same aniseed flavour, sold beside each other and used in different halves of the world. One is sweeter and larger; the other is more concentrated.
botanical
What is being compared
Why these get confused
Both are called aniseed in different places, and star anise — an unrelated tree fruit — is called it too.
Point by point
| Aspect | Anise | Fennel seed |
|---|---|---|
| The plant | Pimpinella anisum, whose origin GRIN records only as probably Asian. | Foeniculum vulgare, native across the Mediterranean and western Asia. |
| Appearance | Small pale ridged seeds, easily mistaken for fennel at a glance. | Plumper, greener when fresh, and noticeably larger. |
| Flavour | Purer and more concentrated aniseed with less green behind it. | Clearly aniseed and sweet, with a softer finish. |
| Preparation | Steeped or lightly crushed; it gives up quickly. | The same, and both benefit from light crushing. |
| Where it belongs | Mediterranean baking, and distilled into arak, ouzo and pastis. | South Asian mukhwas, and infusions across Europe and the Middle East. |
| Naming trouble | GRIN lists 'sweet-cumin' among its English names, which is neither sweet nor cumin. | Confused with anise, dill seed and caraway on any spice shelf. |
The short answer
For a drink, fennel is the more forgiving and the easier to buy. Anise is the one a Mediterranean recipe usually means, and it is stronger than its size suggests.
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