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from Left Celery oil is used to flavour
cooking, and is available in capsule
form for use as a health supplement;
Celery seedlings are slow-growing.
Sow seed in early spring if you want to
have celery for summer salads.
Celery to the rescue
Although celery will grow through the warmer
months given care, it was traditionally a winter
and spring vegetable and for good reason. Winter
diets were once very limited in the range of
foods they offered, with salted meat being seen
frequently on the table while vegetables were
almost non-existent at times. Celery provided a
welcome green addition to the plate and was also
viewed as a tonic to ‘cleanse the system’.
To blanch or not to blanch
Once, the only garden celery available was that
which required blanching in order to reduce
its tendency to be bitter and to develop stringy
stems. Blanching (or shutting out the light) was
achieved by earthing up the base of the plants as
they grew, or by placing collars of card or paper
around the stems. This also helped the stems
lengthen because they grew upwards in search of
light. While self-blanching celery (which requires
no earthing or collaring) is now commonly grown,
those who ‘show’ their celery in horticultural
circles still sometimes prefer to blanch to obtain
extra-long stems from their plants.
Did you know?
New Zealand’s sea celery (Apium prostratum)
Two varieties of this low-growing herb can be
found in coastal regions of New Zealand and also
Australia. It has a celery-like aroma but is said to
taste more like parsley. This wild celery is known to
Māori as tūtae kōau. Captain Cook gathered it and
ordered that it be boiled with wheat and peas and
served to his sailors to ward off scurvy.
Strange soda
One of the most unusual fizzy drinks on the United
States market is Dr Brown’s Cel-Ray. It arrived on
the fizzy drink scene in 1886. At the time, celery
was becoming so popular in the US that it could be
found as an ingredient in celery chewing gum and
celery soap, but it was the soda that really took off.
Dr Brown’s celery tonic was thick and unpalatable,
but by adding soda to it, it was made more
attractive to those who wanted to consume it for
its perceived health benefits. Dr Brown’s Cel-Ray
soda is still sold today.
Chinese celery
Chinese celery (A. graveolens var. secalinum
or ‘Nan Ling’) is a low-growing herb with thin,
crunchy, hollow stems. It is used in soups,
stews and stir-fries (never raw), and is said to
aid digestion.
Celery oil
The development of the processed food industry
heralded the arrival on the market of celery seed
oil. Touted as a detox ingredient, it is marketed as
a liver and kidney cleanser and a diuretic agent. It
is also used widely as flavouring in food.
What’s in a Name?
If you’ve ever allowed the celery plants in your
garden to produce their beautiful umbrella-shaped
flowers, you’ll understand why the vegetable is
a relative of carrot, parsnip, chervil and fennel.
All these are members of the parsley family
Umbelliferae and it’s the Greek word for parsley
(selinon) that has led to the French word for celery
(celeri), the Italian name for it (seleri) and our own
English version (celery).
When to sow celery
Celery seedlings are slow-growing. If you want to
harvest your celery in summer, sow it (outdoors in
mild climates or in seed trays under cover in cooler
regions) in September and October. If you are
purchasing seedlings, try to get them in the ground
by November. Autumn plantings of celery in March
should ensure a harvest over the cooler months. If
you live in very cold parts of the country, grow your
winter celery indoors in a greenhouse.
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