Egyptian sweet-and-sour pickled fennel

This 14th-century recipe requires fresh fennel (شمر, shamar ), which is cut into pieces and parboiled into wine vinegar before being steeped in a covered container in a mixture of aṭrāf al-ṭīb (أطراف الطيب), sugar, (toasted) caraway seeds, mint, and rosewater. You will find that it can be stored in a jar for quite a long time (preferably in the fridge). In addition to being very flavoursome, this delicacy allegedly also aids digestion, and the anonymous author recommended it as an anti-gas and anti-bloating medicine, in which case the fennel should be chewed by itself, after meals.

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