Sweet Fennel Oil

#### Fennel Oil, Sweet. Of little importance—and steadily decreasing in interest—-is the essential oil that is steam distilled from the crushed fruits of cultivated **Sweet**** ****Fennel**, also known as “**Roman**** ****Fennel**”, **Foeniculum Vulgare, **varietas dulce. The plant exists only cultivated, and is grown in France, Italy and Greece (Macedonia). The plant was probably originally from the island of Malta where—in turn—it might have been introduced by monks or crusaders nearly a thousand years ago. Distillation takes place in many countries-where the oil is used-from imported or locally grown seed. France and Italy are main producers, but the oil lost its importance during the same period when anise (seed) oil almost disappeared from the market. Synthetic anethole is now produced in such a pure and organoleptically acceptable quality that the anethole-carrying essential oils have little to offer in the countries where synthetic anethole is produced or readily available. In rough terms, **Sweet**** ****Fennel**** ****Oil**** **is hardly more than an anethole, modified with limonene, phellandrene and trace amounts of other components which exercise surprisingly little influence upon the odor and flavor of the oil. Synthetic anethole is known to have contained a significant amount of cis-anethole, a toxic isomer of anethole. Natural anethole is trans-anethole. This fact is known by all producers of synthetic anethole, and it is conceivable that future batches of synthetic anethole will contain little or no cis-anethole. See also **Star Anise Oil**. **Sweet Fennel Oil **is a colorless or pale yellow liquid with a very sweet, but slightly earthy or peppery-spicy odor and a clean, sweet-aromatic dryout. There is a hint of a fruity-fresh topnote in fresh oils. The flavor is warm-spicy, aromatic, then sweet and only faintly burning. The oil is still used in some perfume types, e.g. chypre, fougère, etc., but it is used more extensively in flavor work, e.g. liqueurs, licorice candy, cough drops, lozenges, etc. The annual production in France has been as high as 500 tons, according to information from suppliers to the French “anisette” brandy industry. **Sweet**** ****Fennel**** ****Oil**** **is the pharmaceutical (“Codex”) fennel oil. It is frequently adulterated—or it may be entirely artificial— in the same way as is the oil of bitter fennel fruit (see previous monograph).