How I keep half a fennel bulb from drying

The fennel bulb was cut in two — one side went into the stew, the other lies as a white disc in the air. By supper the cut is already grey, fibres stick out, the anise is thin as dust. I press a damp cloth to the cut or wrap it tight in film and set it on a cold shelf: the white stays juicy, it does not turn woody.

How I keep half a fennel bulb from drying. Stalks in a jar of water are about a green bouquet; caraway or fennel seeds in a jar are about a dry shelf; a radish half-bunch is about the tops. Here it is the bulb after the knife: shut the white disc from air, so tomorrow it still smells and crunches.

If the cut already toughened — I trim a thin dry layer and shred the middle into oil. I don’t soak the whole half under the tap: water runs into the gaps and the fennel turns sour. I’m not picking a new variety from the stall — only what we already cut at ours.

I don’t need fennel that creaks like a board. I need a half with living anise. In your kitchen do you cover the leftover bulb at the cut — or leave it as a white disc on the table?