Fennel Question Hi, I do love this recipe and I have made it 3 times now (this will be my 4th).

Hi, I do love this recipe and I have made it 3 times now (this will be my 4th). My question is, do you have any idea how many oz of fennel is the right amount? Fennel bulbs vary so much and I agitate over how much to use. This is doubled by the fact that I am, indeed, doubling the recipe for 12 people. I did this last year, but again, so much fret over how much to use. If you could even provide an idea of how large your fennel bulbs are, that would be good. My bulb tonight was 5 inches in length and 3 inches in width. Thank you!

Tricia Giese-Church
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Carrots and Fennel Braised with Orange Zest and Honey
Recipe question for: Carrots and Fennel Braised with Orange Zest and Honey

4 Comments

Emma L.
Emma L. November 27, 2019
Hi Tricia! If I was making this, I would try to find the biggest fennel bulb possible (or get a couple small ones), because I *love* fennel. That said, if you want the carrots to be more of the focus, you could opt for a smaller bulb. Either way, I'm sure it'll turn out great—this looks like a forgiving recipe that can handle some fluctuation. Glad it's become such a staple for you!
 
Tricia G.
Tricia G. November 27, 2019
Thank you, Emma. This is very helpful. I do wish I made it more than once a year. I think this time, I'll make note of how much I use using a weigh scale and write it on the recipe so that next year I'll have a better idea.
 
Nancy
Nancy November 27, 2019
Tricia - there's a data base (mostly from USDA) that gives nutritional information about most foods. One of its side benefits is that it gives a choice of serving sizes for you to work with (oz, 100g, cup, etc). This includes common sizes of produce sold in grocery stores, cuts of meat, etc.
Here's the entry on fennel, 1 bulb.
https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/3023/2
It doesn't give length or width. But the 234 grams per bulb equate to about 8 oz imperial.
So, when you're next shopping, weigh some fennel while in the store & see what your local market size is.
All that said, if you've made this recipe three times you know how it comes out, and you can decide use more or less fennel according to taste, looks, balance f flavors, how much (if any) was left after you served it to x number of people.
Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Tricia G.
Tricia G. November 27, 2019
I've made it 3 time but only once per year and I can never remember how much fennel I have used and as I mentioned, I've always wondered what the true amount was used by the recipe poster. The real issue is, the recipe calls for 1.5 pounds of carrots. That's precise. All other measurements are precise. It then says 1 bulb of fennel.... that's not really helpful given the array of sizes fennel can be...
 
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