Fennel

Since the Vedic and Biblical eras, spices have played a significant role in people's lives. They have been considered essential for perfumery, composition, food flavoring, drink boosting, and medicines. Travelers like Columbus and Vasco da Gama were compelled by the description of flavor¿s to undertake perilous ocean journeys in order to reach India, "the country known for its spices" (Sastry and Sharma, 2001). The term ¿Spices and Condiments¿ applies to such natural plant or vegetable products or mixtures there of, used in whole or grind form, mainly for imparting flavor, aroma and pungency of food. They are low volume high value crops which play a pivotal role in our national economy and provide strong footing in the international market. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) recognized 109 spices among which 63 are grown in India, out of these, 20 are seed spices. Seed spices are annual herbs, whose dried seeds or fruits are used as spices. They are nature¿s gift to humankind as they add flavor to our food and food supplements.