Liquorice root vs fennel
Two anise-adjacent materials constantly blended together and often assumed to be the same flavour. One is sweet and one is not.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Liquorice root | Fennel seed |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A Eurasian legume root, dried and sliced or shredded. | The seed of a Mediterranean Apiaceae. |
| Sweetness | Genuinely sweet, and it sweetens whatever it is simmered with. | Not sweet; the aniseed reads as sweetness and is not. |
| Flavour | Anise-adjacent with a heavy, rounded depth. | Cleaner and lighter aniseed. |
| Preparation | Simmered, like every root. | Steeped or lightly simmered; the seed gives up quickly. |
| In a blend | Dominates. Adding it is a flavour decision as much as a sweetening one. | Blends readily and sits behind other things. |
| Where it is used | Confectionery across northern Europe, and blends everywhere. | Mukhwas in India, and infusions across Europe and the Middle East. |
| The confectionery trap | Liquorice sweets are usually flavoured with anise oil rather than the root. | No equivalent; fennel sweets are fennel. |
The short answer
If a blend tastes overwhelmingly of aniseed and is also sweet, it is liquorice. Fennel is the one you can use without redesigning everything around it.
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