Both the stalks and the leaves of celery add flavor to cooked dishes and give a delightful crunch to salads.
Apium graveolens var. dulce
Celery can be picked one crisp, crunchy stem at a time as required, or the whole bunch can be harvested. Excluding light from the celery stems, called blanching, reduces photosynthesis. This encourages the growth of crisper, longer, less stringy stems, which are also paler in color.
Both the stalks and the leaves of celery add flavor to cooked dishes and give a delightful crunch to salads.
Celery seed is the dried fruit of Apium graveolens, which is related to, but not identical to, the vegetable celery. Celery seed’s flavor is similar to that of fennel and anise.
This vegetable likes rich, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. While it can be grown from seed, it is slow to germinate. Even seedlings must be grown for more than two months before they reach planting size, but they are a better option.
Plant seedlings in spring in mild climates and late summer and autumn in hot climates. Seedlings should be spaced around 25 cm (10 in) apart. Celery doesn’t like to dry out in summer, so be sure to water plants regularly. Nor does it like wind or extreme cold.
While celery can be grown without blanching, unblanched stems will be green and have a stronger flavor. If you want to have long, whitish-green stems, the bunch must be blanched three to four weeks before harvesting. Wrap newspaper or cardboard around each bunch to 40 cm (15 in) high and secure with string, or use empty milk cartons with the bottom cut out. Or plant self-blanching varieties in blocks so only the outside plants need shading.
Problems Snails and slugs love the stems. Use liquid fertilizer to control pests; to control diseases, remove affected leaves. To avoid carrot flies, don’t grow carrots and celery together.
Harvesting Celery takes 17 weeks to develop to full size, though you can harvest individual stems earlier. If taking a few stems at a time, pick the outer stems first, twisting them near the base and leaving the young inner stems to keep growing.
Buy whole or half bunches of celery with fresh-looking leaves (if still attached) and plump, firm stalks. To conserve space in the refrigerator, trim leaves from the top and the core from the bottom. Cut stalks to the desired length and store in a sealed plastic bag or an airtight container in the crisper section of the refrigerator for up to five days.
Celery has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat high blood pressure. In the 1990s, researchers discovered that a compound in celery called 3-n-butylphthalide does, indeed, relax blood vessels and that it lowered the blood pressure of laboratory animals. Celery contains phytochemicals that help to reduce the production of certain prostaglandins, body chemicals that can cause inflammation. Celery seed and celery seed oil, meanwhile, are traditional remedies for rheumatism, gout, dizziness, and a poor appetite.
Dice the tough outer stalks of a bunch of celery and use in soups, stews, or gratins. Use the more tender inner stalks raw in salads and juices. The leaves are flavorsome, too. Chop finely and add to soups and omelets, as you would fresh parsley.
Wild celery
Celery dates back to selinon, a wild plant mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey. The ancient Greeks and Romans used it for the medicinal properties of its seeds, and it wasn’t until the 16th century that celery began to be grown as a vegetable rather than a medicine.