Pollen Ranch's Organic Fennel Pollen Spice, Perfect for Cooking and Seasoning with Fennel Flavor, Made from Premium Organic Fennel Flowers - 0.5 oz. Tin

Worth the cost

Love the flavor it brings to dishes. Marries well with pork and fish. (Great as a crust for seared tuna!) My only complaint is the container. The lid is next to impossible to remove. I read in several other reviews that they had issues with this too, so I planned ahead. I put down some parchment paper on the counter (people complained about losing half the pollen when getting the container open). I tried the basic way of opening the container, bare handed, no luck. I tried opening it wearing silicon gloves, still no luck, that lid is on tight! Then I got out my handy dandy cooking mallet, put the container on its edge and hammered it a few times to bend it out of shape, did it again on the other side and was able to release the lid with minimal spillage. I then move the fennel pollen to a suitable container (small mason jar) and poured the bit I spilled on the parchment paper on top. Love the product, but be prepared to fight the container for it!

I ordered this product after reading a recipe for a home adaptation of the Mezzi Rigatoni With Fennel Sausage Ragu in the Red Hen Restaurant menu that appeared in the Washington Post. If you like fennel, this is a great product; you just have to shell out some bucks to get a very small amount (although it is also true that a little goes a long way). I found (like several other reviewers) that the cover was very tight and difficult to remove without spilling the fennel pollen (which you really don't want to do); I overcame this issue by sticking a table knife tip between the lips of the cover and the container and twisting slightly to loosen the cover. Problem solved.

Fennel pollen is my new favorite flavor. It ads a flavor that is reminiscent of sausage to anything you put it in because of the heavy use of fennel seed in many sausages. I used it in a fig and prosciutto stuffing for Thanksgiving and it was fantastic. You'll definitely find yourself adding to dishes on the fly just to up the savory-ness of the dish.For those that do not like fennel/anise/black licorice flavor, do not fear fennel pollen. It does not taste like anise.The only reason this product didn't get 5 stars is because the tin it comes in is awful. It's so hard to open that you will end up dumping half of the product on the counter when you finally do pry the lid off. Unfortunately I can't buy this specific product again because of the packaging. But, the pollen itself is high quality.

This is the unsung hero of many a delicious dish that's elevated just slightly higher than it usually is. It might seem like a lot of money for a mere ounce, but it's worth the price. You use this sparingly, and add it to chicken, fish, beef, roasted vegetables, pasta (I'd use it with white/cream/light sauces, as tomato would overpower this), even in baked goods. Sprinkle a little on with the rest of your seasonings and you'll wonder how you've ever lived without fennel pollen in your spice rack. It doesn't have that strong licoricey flavor like fennel seed, so don't let its name scare you. The flavor is SO hard to describe, slightly sweet, very floral and aromatic.Remember, a little goes a long way. Try it and tell me you hate it. I dare you. :)For inspiration on how to use it, google "how to use fennel pollen". You'll often be greeted with a preface with the person describing how magical this stuff is, and how it truly adds a new amazing dimension to the flavor of your food.

I saw glowing reports about fennel pollen in general and this item in particular. "Magical" is rather a high bar. The scent of anise you get when you open the package although showing it's fresh, actually worried me that it was going to just be fennel. BUT, I sprinkled about 1/4 a teaspoon onto almost a kilogram of salmon and grilled it. Ok, good salmon and perfectly grilled but it still was the best result I've ever gotten with this out of about 50 meals. The anise/licorice taste was barely there and mostly it just made it more salmon, more delicious and far less low tide. It really does mainly just make the flavor better and not especially fennel/anise. Lastly, you get about a tablespoon worth for 15 bucks. For a spice I originally found on click bait as "the most expensive food", this is quite reasonable. Compared to others of the same product or saffron or other pollens, it is quite a reasonable price for a truly magical spice.

I love finding new spices to play with in recipes and was excited when I came across this product. In my family the love for the flavor of fennel has long been a favorite and I planned on giving a can of this to my father for Christmas. When it did not arrive on time due to an addressing error, Pollen Ranch very generously made up for the mistake by sending me a sample of their products. The evening the package arrived I made Chicken Piccata, adding the poultry blend to the flour (although just a tad because it does not take much). The flavor was subtle yet with marvelous savor and will now be a permanent addition to my recipe. The next day I made Spiced Muffins and added a bit of the Fennel Pollen to the streusel topping, which again, added a unique flavor that was alluring to the taste buds. I have now tried the Fennel Pollen and Fennel Pollen Blends with a variety of recipes and loved the flavor they bring to everything I have cooked. Next on the menu is to create a fennel flavored chocolate truffle as a gift for my dad (it really is his favorite spice)- I imagine these will be wonderful as well. I encourage anyone looking to add another flavor dimension to their recipes to give the Fennel Pollen a try, I do not think you will be disappointed. And with the outstanding service the the Pollen Ranch extends to its customers, I will be supporting their company as often as possible.

One teaspoon flavors 3 pounds of my recipe, so I keep it in the freezer. Lasts forever in there, and by forever I mean a year. It might be the only stuff on the Amazon, but it's da bomb. Don't be afraid to buy it.