Experienced housewives often use in popular recipes and in cooking two popular plants - fennel and dill. What is the difference between these two cultures, whose leaves and seeds are so similar in appearance? Many do not see the difference between them, but the composition and useful properties of plants have some differences. Get to know them better.
Fennel
Fennel is a perennial plant belonging to the Celery family. Fennel stalks are branched and tall, up to 2.5 meters. Outside, the stem is covered with a bluish bloom, and inside it has a porous structure. The leaves are threadlike and long, and the inflorescences of the plant are similar to yellowish umbrellas.
There are two types of this culture - vegetable fennel and ordinary. Vegetable fennel is easily recognized by its fleshy rhizome. The fruits of the plant are large and sweet, they are often used in various dishes.
Fennel seeds have a characteristic smell of anise, with hints of tarragon and peppermint. It is the seeds that propagate the plant. The seeds are sown not earlier than April, and the fruits appear only by September. Fennel is afraid of cold weather, therefore it grows mainly in a subtropical climate, but in its latitudes you can find some of its varieties.
Useful properties of fennel
Different composition and properties - these are the main characteristics that distinguish fennel and dill. What is the difference between them, every housewife must know in order to successfully apply each of the plants as a means of traditional medicine. As for fennel, its composition contains many vitamins and elements necessary for the human body:
- essential and fatty oils;
- B vitamins, as well as provitamin A;
- biotin;
- phytosterols;
- amino acids;
- calcium, manganese, zinc, copper, iron and other macro- and micronutrients.
In addition, fennel is extremely tasty and fragrant. The fruits of the plant are mainly used in cooking, but fennel seeds are also popular as a seasoning.
Dill
Odorous dill is a familiar resident of gardens and summer cottages. It is easy to recognize by cirrus leaves and a characteristic dill smell. The stems of dill are low, up to 90 cm, small grooves with a waxy coating are clearly visible on them. The fruits of the plant are small, gray-brown in color. They are not used for food, only dill leaves are valuable for cooking.
Dill is unpretentious - it does not require care and grows well even in conditions of frost. It propagates by seeds, and they can be sown several times during the year. Shoots appear quickly enough, in just a week. Once the stems reach 5 centimeters in height, the leaves can already be cut and eaten.
Dill: useful properties
Dill, like fennel, is actively used in recipes of folk remedies. The composition of dill contains the following elements:
- folic acid;
- essential oils;
- Vitamin C, P, as well as a number of B vitamins;
- flavonoids;
- phosphorus, potassium, iron.
Fennel and dill - what's the difference?
What makes these two cultures different?
- Growing conditions and plant care.
- Appearance.
- Smell and taste.
- Composition, useful properties and application.
- Use in cooking.
The difference is easy to understand if you take a closer look at the plants. In fact, there are many external differences - dill is lower than fennel and has no fruits. In culinary more often it is fennel fruits that are used, while in dill fresh green leaves have valuable taste qualities.
How to distinguish dill from fennel, if you have plant seeds in front of you? Very simple - fennel seeds are longer, they easily break into two parts and smell quite differently than dill seeds. To treat colic in infants and to increase lactation in nursing mothers, it is the fennel seed infusion that is used. What is noteworthy, it is called "dill water." At the same time, dill seeds have a more saturated taste and aroma, they are often used as seasoning.
Also in medicine, a decoction of fennel seeds is more often used as an antispasmodic, expectorant and antimicrobial agent. Medicines from dill have similar properties, but less pronounced. They are more often used as diuretics.
A good housewife must know the difference between crops such as fennel and dill. What is the difference between them - it is easy to find out by growing each of the plants in your garden. Such close acquaintance with them will make it possible in the future not to confuse the two valuable cultures and to correctly use them in the kitchen and in family health recipes.