I'M pretty open-minded when it comes to food and flavours but there's one vegetable that I really struggle to enjoy and that’s fennel. I'm not really sure how to take its aniseed flavour, even though I enjoy liquorice sweets and a drop of Pernod now and then. Despite my personal lack of enthusiasm for it, it’s actually a much requested item at our weekly stops so I knew that our customers would be very excited to learn we had some local fennel from North Aston Organics in stock at our stops last week.

I wouldn’t be doing my job very well if I didn’t at least try to understand my frondy foe a little better so I turned to the internet for help. Firstly I discovered I’m not alone in my dislike of fennel, with one blogger referring to it as the devil seed and another refusing to pollute their lamb dish with its "intense black liquorice flavour". But it turns out that it is the potency of this green fiend that gives it some interesting medicinal qualities.

Apparently fennel an antispasmodic and contains components which stimulate the secretion of digestive juices while reducing inflammation in the stomach and intestines. That basically means it's good for indigestion relief and fennel seeds are often chewed after meals in India for this very reason. According to another website it’s also great for women who are breastfeeding as it increases milk production and gives it a sweeter taste.

Medicinal benefits aside, those in the opposite camp to myself love the flavour and swear that fennel bulbs and seeds are a kitchen cupboard essential. The seeds can be sprinkled on breads or cakes before baking and added to fruit salads. The fresh fennel roots are apparently delicious sautéed with other vegetables, sliced raw in salads or enjoyed steamed. Just searching recipe sites online brings up a plethora of fennel dishes. It really is a versatile veg and I can now understand why there are some people out there who are pretty passionate about it. I'm still not sure I'll ever be sold on the taste but at least now I can respect it for all its other virtues.