The Book of Household Management by Mrs. Beeton

1 tablespoonful of chopped fennel. _Mode_.--Make the melted butter very smoothly, by recipe No. 376; chop the fennel rather small, carefully cleansing it from any grit or dirt, and put it to the butter when this is on the point of boiling. Simmer for a minute or two, and serve in a tureen. _Time_.--2 minutes. _Average cost_, 4d. _Sufficient_ to serve with 5 or 6 mackerel. [Illustration: FENNEL.] FENNEL.--This elegantly-growing plant, of which the Latin name is _Anethum foeniculum_, grows best in chalky soils, where, indeed, it is often found wild. It is very generally cultivated in gardens, and has much improved on its original form. Various dishes are frequently ornamented and garnished with its graceful leaves, and these are sometimes boiled in soups, although it is more usually confined, in English cookery, to the mackerel sauce as here given. FISH SAUCE.