Love celery!

Celery is not like other vegetables. In the hands of a seasoned chef it becomes an almost magical ingredient that amplifies other flavors in a dish. Here at PS we adore celery and we think it deserves to be celebrated:

Celery is an herb

Originally from Asia, today it grows wild in Europe. Celery is believed (by some) to have medicinal qualities. The entire herb is used in cooking: Root, stem, and seeds.

Three types of celery

White celery/stalk (or stem) celery/leaf celery – can grow almost a meter tall and is cultivated for its stems and leaves.
Root celery/Celeriac – where the bulbous root, with a flavor not unlike stem celery, is harvested and eaten.
Chinese celery – darker, thinner, and with a stronger flavor than stem celery. Perhaps more spice than vegetable, and seldom eaten raw.

The king of stews

Celery is seldom – if ever – the star of any dish or soup or stew or sauce, but it has an amazing way of lifting other flavors. Not least meat.

Traces of umami

Celery might be considered a “typical” vegetable (and one that hardcore meat-eaters typically might avoid), but one of its special qualities is traces of appetizing umami. Umami, in turn, has a way of lifting other flavors, a bit like salt.

No ragu without celery

The meaty sauce that is commonly known as Bolognese is, in fact, in its place of origin in Bologna, known as “Ragu”. It is not made from minced meat, but rather from slow-cooked chuck of beef. To get the right, satisfying flavor the vegetables in the sauce are just as important as the meat, not least celery.

Soffritto, mirepoix, suppengrün, holy trinity

In fact, chopped celery is one of the key ingredients in several of the “holy trinities” in some of the world’s most outstanding kitchens: Italian soffritto (but not Spanish sofrito), French mirepoix, German/Bohemian suppengrün, and in the Creole kitchen’s “holy trinity”.

Celery salt

The ability to magnify other flavors is the reason why celery is used to make celery salt.

Love Waldorf salad

The signature ingredients in this classical salad are white celery, walnuts, apple, and mayonnaise. According to legend it was first served in 1896 in luxury hotel Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The celery is what gives the salad its freshness, its crispiness, and big flavors.

Bloody Mary ingredient

The celery stem in a Bloody Mary (vodka and tomato juice) is not only decorative, it also adds a hint of umami on top of the virtually tasteless vodka. A little freshly ground black pepper rounds it all off.

Dip with celery

Crispy, fresh celery stems were made for dipping. They are sturdy as well as lightly concave and do a great job of spooning up tasty goo. Celery stems are also a lot healthier and lower in calories (so that you can scoop up much more dip) than many alternatives. A perfect match for the crispiness, the fresh herb flavor, and the umami of the celery is blue cheese and other fat, salty, flavor bombs.

Place in water in the fridge

Celery will keep for a week or two in the fridge. A trick for preserving its crispiness for as long as possible is to place it upright in water, like tulips in a vase.

Celery can be deep frozen

Left over celery can be deep frozen. Chop into relatively large chunks, place in a plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Some of the crispiness will be lost, but the flavor will keep quite well.