Celery
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? Celery |
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| Apium graveolens L. |
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Celery (Apium graveolens dulce) is a herbaceous biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the coasts of western and northern Europe, most commonly in ditches and saltmarshes. It grows to 1 m tall, with pinnate to bipinnate leaves with rhombic leaflets 3-6 cm long and 2-4 cm broad. The flowers are creamy-white, 2-3 mm diameter, produced in dense compound umbels. The seeds are broad ovoid to globose, 1.5-2 mm long and wide. Celeriac (Apium graveolens rapaceum) is closely related.
Cultivation and uses
Celery is a very popular vegetable, used primarily in salads and soups. In North America, commercial production of celery is dominated by a variety called Pascal celery. Gardeners can grow a range of cultivars , many which differ little from the wild species, mainly in having stouter leaf stems. They are ranged under two classes, white and red; the white cultivars being generally the best flavoured, and most crisp and tender.
The wild form of celery is known as smallage. It has a furrowed stalk with wedge-shaped leaves, the whole plant having a coarse, rank taste, and a peculiar smell. With cultivation and blanching, the stalks lose their acrid qualities and assume the mild, sweetish, aromatic taste peculiar to celery as a salad plant.
The plants are raised from seed, sown either in a hot bed or in the open garden according to the season of the year, and after one or two thinnings out and transplantings they are, on attaining a height of 15-20 cm, planted out in deep trenches for convenience of blanching, which is effected by earthing up to exclude light from the stems.
In the past, celery was grown as a vegetable for winter and early spring; because of its antitoxic properties, it was perceived as a cleansing tonic, welcomed after the stagnation of winter.
Food uses
As a salad plant, celery, especially if at all "stringy", is difficult to digest. Celery has 'negative calories', as the effort to consume it burns more calories than it contains. The net loss in calories is not significant in and of itself, but as with other low calorie and high fiber foods, it can be an asset to dieters because when the stomach is filled up with celery it can quench feelings of hunger while leaving less room for higher calorie foods. It also possesses valuable diuretic properties.
Both blanched and green it is stewed and used in soups, the seeds also being used as a flavouring ingredient. Even after long immersion in broth, the stalks remain somewhat crisp, and are useful for adding texture to the soup.
In the south of Europe celery is seldom blanched, but is much used in its natural condition.
Chopped, it is one of the three vegetables considered the holy trinity of Louisiana Creole and Cajun cuisine. It is also one of the three vegetables (together with onions and carrots) that constitute the french mirepoix, which is often used as a base for sauces and soups.
Celery seed is used as a spice. When combined with salt, the resulting spice blend is called celery salt. Celery salt is used as an alternate to ordinary salt seasoning in various recipes and cocktails. It is notably used to enhance the flavor of Bloody Mary and the Chicago-style hot dog.
Medicinal uses
The whole plant is gently stimulant, nourishing, and restorative; it can be liquefied, with the juice taken for joint and urinary tract inflammations, such as rheumatoid arthritis, cystitis, or urethritis, for weak conditions, and for nervous exhaustion.
The seeds, harvested after the plant flowers in its second year, are the basis for a homeopathic extract used as a diuretic. The extract is believed to help clear toxins from the system, so are especially good for gout, where uric acid crystals collect in the joints, and arthritis. They are also used as a mild digestive stimulant. The extract can be combined with almond or sunflower oil, and massaged into arthritic joints or for painful gout in the feet or toes.
The root is an effective diuretic and has been taken for urinary stones and gravel. It also acts as a bitter digestive remedy and liver stimulant. A tincture can be used as a diuretic in hypertension and urinary disorders, as a component in arthritic remedies, or as a kidney energy stimulant and cleanser.
Caution
- Bergapten in the seeds could increase photosensitivity, so do not apply the essential oil externally in bright sunshine.
- Avoid the oil and large doses of the seeds during pregnancy: they can act as a uterine stimulant.
- Do not ingest seeds intended for cultivation, because they are often treated with fungicides.
Etymology
There is a widespread myth that the word celery ("The Fast Vegetable") derives from the Latin word, celer, meaning fast or swift. This is entirely false — there is no connection between them. It actually comes from the Greek selinon, meaning parsley. A reference to selinon is found in Homer's Odyssey. The word celeri is found as early as a 9th century poem proclaiming the merits and medicinal uses of the plant, written in France or Italy.
It passed through Latin, Italian and French before becoming the modern English word celery.
Trivia
- The Class B Michigan-Ontario League, a minor league baseball league from the early 20th century, included a team called the Kalamazoo Celery Pickers.
- Dr. Brown's makes a celery-flavored soft drink called Cel-Ray, which is sold mostly in the New York City region.