The Underrated Fall Vegetable Chef José Andrés Turns Into A Refreshing Drink

For celebrity chef, author, and humanitarian José Andrés, food often tells a story — just like his wife's gazpacho, his favorite soup, which caused him to fall in love. On his Substack, Andrés relates how the warm days bridging late summer and early fall put him in mind of a delicious drink that combines refreshment with a hint of autumn's bounty: a fennel lemonade, also known as fennelade. "I know fennel can be controversial because of its anise flavor, but I think more and more of you should give it a try before you tell me you don't like it," he urges. Like the trend that combines lemonade with espresso or coffee, fennelade is an unexpected quaff that will surprise you with its delightfulness.

Fall marks the start of fennel season, which is why the herb features in so many winter dishes. Some folks hate fennel due to its similarities in taste to black licorice: anise, fennel, and licorice all share in common the flavor compound glycyrrhiza glabra and the chemical anethole that give them their signature perfume. Even the most hardened detractors of fennel, however, might consider giving fennelade an exploratory sip. The bright pop of the lemons and the sugar mellow out the bold licorice-like zing that's so often hated. When served with plenty of ice, fennelade becomes its own thing, a mixture of flavors that is more than the sum of its parts.

There are a variety of ways to make fennel lemonade, but most start with concocting an infused simple syrup or strong tea of the fennel first, using either the seeds or the fronds. If you are a big fan of fennel's kick and want a deeply concentrated flavor, you can shave the bulb and use that, too. Whatever part of the fennel plant you use, simply strain it out after making your base of choice. Lemonade is, traditionally, made up of fresh lemon juice, water, and a sweetener. What sweetener you use depends on whether you incorporate the fennel with sugar or honey ahead of time. While pink lemonade's flavor depends on what you add to it, and its color may often just be due to the addition of food coloring, fennelade has a lovely bright green hue that it comes by honestly.

We've seen some folks on the internet really mix up their fennel lemonade by muddling mint in with the fennel, which really brings forward the herbal brightness. Steeping your fennel with cinnamon creates another wholly complementary and complex flavor. Overwhelming sweetness is not a defining feature of fennelade, which may be why some home chefs line the drinking glass in rock salt and the juice of a lemon wedge. José Andrés himself endorses mixing in gin or Pernod if you'd like to transform your fennelade into an exquisite harvest cocktail.