John Myers
Regional, rich in nutrients, and variable in taste – celery has many advantages. Here you can find out how you can prepare the fine tuber in a variety of ways.
Celery is often associated with soup greens. And that is also obvious: Celery is a frequent and popular ingredient in soups because of its earthy, intensive taste. But dismissing celery as just one of many ingredients would not do justice to the versatile and nutritious vegetable. Baked, boiled, or raw: the intensely flavored tuber is incredibly multifaceted and can be prepared in a variety of ways. That’s why she should be starring on the plate a lot more often!
When it comes to celery, a distinction is made between tuber and celery, also known as celery. Both variations are derived from “real celery”. Celery is an umbellifer and is related to carrots, fennel, and caraway. Its appearance is similar to that of fennel: a small tuber with strong, green leaf stalks that can be longer or shorter. Celeriac is a root vegetable. Its appearance is characterized by a large beige to the greenish-brown bulb. It does not have fleshy leaf stalks, like celery. You can occasionally get it with green foliage at the greengrocer and in the shop. Like kohlrabi and fennel, the leaves are edible and even packed with vitamins, calcium, and potassium. Therefore, they should definitely be used in the kitchen. You can find tips on recycling in our article. You will also read how you can prepare celery in a variety of ways, learn more about its many ingredients and get some great ideas for recipes that encourage imitation and reveal unexpected flavors of celery.
Preparing celery: the most important things in a nutshell
Both celery varieties – celery root and celery stalk – must first be freed from the soil with a vegetable brush under cold water. Then remove the stalk from both. With the celeriac, also remove the base of the leaves and peel the vegetable from top to bottom until there are no remains of the peel left. With celery, loosen the individual stalks and, if necessary, peel them with an asparagus peeler until the fibrous parts give way to the pulp. Both varieties are already ready for the saucepan and the like!
How do you cut celery?
Before you start preparing it, the celery has to be prepared for the saucepan and the like. Celeriac should first be brushed under cold water with a vegetable brush. The stalk and leaf base must then be removed. Use a sharp kitchen knife for this. With the top and bottom of the bulb removed, you can safely set the celeriac on the cutting board. Take a regular vegetable peeler and evenly peel off the skin of the root vegetables from top to bottom and all around. If there are still a few brown spots left after peeling, these can be easily removed with a knife.
You should also first rinse the celery under water to remove dried soil. Then the stalk has to be cut off and the individual rods have to be loosened. Use an asparagus peeler to remove the tough fibers from the celery. Then cut the stems into the size you want before you start preparing them.
How to cook celery
Celeriac is often used as a classic soup green. Thanks to its tart and spicy pulp, the vegetable is also suitable for stews or as a puree. Celery schnitzel tastes particularly delicious. Simply cut the celeriac into thick slices, boil them in hot water and coat them with a mixture of egg, flour, and breadcrumbs. Then fry them in the pan with oil and butter – a super easy and delicious recipe!
Very important: Don’t forget to save the green part of the celery root. It can be used wonderfully in soups or processed into celery salt. If you don’t have a use for the celery leaves, to begin with, that’s no problem either. You can freeze the celery leaves as well as the whole celery stalk. The taste of celery is significantly milder and fresher than celeriac. It is therefore a great ingredient for fruit and vegetable juices and fresh salad recipes. Cooking is good, but eating celery raw is better: you get the full vitamin kick if you eat the celery unprocessed. A light, creamy dip with fine herbs goes perfectly with this.
