The 17th century receipt (recipe), A Sallet of Fennel, begins: Take young Fennel, about a span long in the Spring, tye it up in bunches as you do Sparragrass. A span is about eight inches in length and Sparragrass (sparrow grass) is asparagus as it is known today.
Visit my website at: www.hearttohearthcookery.com
Heart to Hearth Cookery 
what variety of fennel was used back then?
By: missmaisieandme on July 13, 2015
at 8:48 pm
Charlie Thomforde is the historic horticulturalist who grew the fennel for me. The fennel he grows is “sweet fennel”. His comments are that there are references for this fennel as far back as 10th century France and it was the common cultivated variety in Northern Europe and England in the 17th century.
By: hearttohearthcookery on July 15, 2015
at 9:41 am