How to Cut Fennel the Right Way

Fennel is one of those under-appreciated vegetables that deserves more attention. Why don't home cooks use fennel more? Perhaps it's because they are confused about how to cut it. Fennel has a unique shape, with a layered bulb-like base, long stalks, and feathery fronds. To help you learn how to use fennel, here is our step-by-step guide to prepping and cutting it, whether you want to slice or dice—and whether you're going to use it raw in a salad, add it to a winter stew, roast it, or more.

What is Fennel?

Fennel is a layered, bulb-like vegetable that is native to the Mediterranean. The variety we buy in grocery stores is the most common type of fennel, known as Florence fennel or finocchio in Italian. It comes from the Apiaceae family, meaning it is related to the herb dill and the vegetable celery root. 

We love fennel for its crunch when raw and for its mild anise flavor that compliments so many other ingredients. Cooking brings out its sweetness as well as a vegetal flavor and softens the texture. Another reason we love fennel is because it lasts a long time in the crisper drawer.

How to Cut Fennel

What You Need: A sharp chef's knife and a cutting board.

1. Prep: Wash and cut off the stalks and fronds, cutting as close to the bulb as possible. Check the bulb, remove any tough outer layers, and make sure there are no cuts, marks, or damage to the newly exposed outer layer. Slice off the very bottom of the bulb.
   
2. Halve: Cut the fennel bulb in half from top to bottom (lengthwise).
3. Remove the core: Take one-half of the fennel bulb and, using the tip of your knife, run along the line where the core meets the rest of the bulb to remove the core in a wedge. Repeat with the other half.

Slicing

Place the half bulb on the chopping board and slice crossways or lengthways, depending on your preference or what your recipe calls for. (Slicing lengthwise with the knife parallel to the line running from the root end to the stalk end produces straighter slices. Slicing across the bulb orbitally creates more rounded slices.)

Dicing

Dicing fennel is similar to dicing an onion.

1. Halve and remove the core as outlined above. Set each half flat on a cutting board, and slice down through the bulb in a series of vertical cuts—do not cut all the way through the root end so the layers remain connected.
2. Rotate the fennel and cut slices in the other direction, following the curve of the fennel. Halfway through, flip the remaining part of the bulb down onto the flat side to continue slicing with a stable base. 
3. Finish by slicing through the section you didn’t slice to keep the layers intact

How far apart you space the vertical and horizontal cuts will determine the final dice size; go smaller for minced fennel.