Fennel pollen

Fennel pollen is the dried flower pollen of Foeniculum vulgare, gathered from the tiny golden umbels of the fennel plant and dried to a fine, dusty, chartreuse-yellow powder. It carries the same anise-liquorice signature as fennel seed but in a far more intense, delicate and honeyed form — sweet, floral and almost citrusy, with none of the seed's bitter, camphoraceous edge. Long a peasant seasoning in Tuscany, where it is called the "spice of the angels" (spezia degli angeli), it was rediscovered by American chefs in the 2000s and prized as a luxury finishing spice, sprinkled over roast pork, fish and pasta at the moment of serving. It comes from the very same plant as fennel seed and fennel bulb, but is a distinct, rarer and much costlier ingredient with a purer, sweeter aroma.