The fibre-rich, healthy fennel provides a special, spicy aroma both raw in salads and fried or boiled in rice, potato and meat dishes. In our article, we explain how best to store the vegetables.
Fennel can be stored in the refrigerator or in the cellar
How to store fennel
You have several options for storing fennel:
- in the refrigerator
- in the basement
- in the freezer
Apart from the latter variant, it is advisable to keep fennel for as short a time as possible, i.e. to consume it relatively quickly. After just a few days, it gradually begins to dry out and become woody. This means that it soon loses its aroma and also changes its consistency.
Store fennel in the refrigerator
Wrap your fennel in cling film and then place it in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. The film protects it from (rapid) drying out.
Alternatively, you can lightly dampen the bulbous plant with water (by spraying it with a spray bottle) and then wrap it in kitchen paper before placing it in the fridge.
With both versions, the fennel stays fresh for about a week or two. In many cases it is still edible afterwards. However, it then already has significantly fewer vitamins and you have to cut away the shriveled outer leaves of the tuber.
Store fennel in the cellar
Remove the greens from the fennel bulb and place the latter in a prepared box with moistened sand. You then carry the whole thing into the cellar, provided that it is dry. This way you can store fennel for several weeks.
Store fennel in the freezer
If you would like to significantly extend the shelf life of your fennel bulbs, simply freeze them. Our step-by-step guide explains how:
- Wash and trim the fennel thoroughly.
- Cut the vegetables into smaller pieces (like you will use later).
- Blanch the fennel pieces in lemon water for three to five minutes.
- Briefly shock the vegetables in ice water.
- Drain the pieces in a colander.
- Dry the fennel carefully with paper towels.
- Put the pieces in portions in freezer bags.
- Seal the bags airtight.
- Put the freezer bags in the freezer.
Fennel has a shelf life of at least six months.
tips
You can also freeze raw fennel. In that case, just skip the blanching and shocking in ice water. However, fennel tastes better later if you blanch it before freezing.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself