Did you know that fennel has many beneficial health-giving properties: purifying, digestive, deodorant. And there's more: if consumed in excess it can have narcotic and irritant effects. And finally: did you know that in Italian there is a phrase which roughly translates as "don’t be ‘fenneled’” meaning ‘don’t be a fool’? This was because the vendors of low-quality wine covered up its unpleasant odour with fennel seeds. Thus, the buyer needed to be careful .. don’t be ‘fenneled’!