How do I enjoy celery?

[Supadupa]

Recently tried some out hoping it would be good for snacking. Bleh! Not the fussy type but how do people get past the taste of detergent? Sorry to all the celery lovers but there has got to be a way to make it more bearable??

 

[TastyReuben]

I love, love, love celery! I’ve never heard anyone describe it as tasting of detergent - I’ll have to look that up (maybe it hangs out with the cilantro too much?).

If it tastes like soap to you, there’s probably nothing that’ll make it taste good to you. I love it raw and plain, or with peanut butter on it, or cream cheese, or as cream of celery soup, braised, in a gratin, scrambled into eggs with some tomatoes…on and on. It’s probably my favorite vegetable after onion (for cooking), potatoes (for versatility), and carrots.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Recently tried some out hoping it would be good for snacking. Bleh! Not the fussy type but how do people get past the taste of detergent? Sorry to all the celery lovers but there has got to be a way to make it more bearable??

If you are growing your own celery, one of the signs of too little water and/or poor soil quality is that it tastes of soap.

If you're buying celery that tastes this way, change your supplier. Also celery isn't in season in the UK, so I'd suggest leaving it till it is in season.

Carrots and cucumber are my go to veg when I want more calorie munchies.

Celery also needs blanching whilst growing to remove some of the bitter flavour, so different varieties taste better than others. I purchased some self blanching celery this year (to grow myself) that is less green and more golden than normal celery. It's flavour was milder.

 

[caseydog]

I think you got some bad celery. I occasionally buy some that tastes bad, but the good stuff is very tasty. The bad stuff is bitter.

Like TR, I snack on it with peanut butter or cream chese. You can also dip it in Ranch or Bleu Cheese salad dressing. You can also spritz it with a little hot sauce. Plain, a little salt is good.

In Cajun country, celery is part of the "Holy Trinity" so almost every recipe includes it (onion, bell pepper and celery is the Trinity). I cook a lot of Cajun food, so I buy a lot of it. And, like I said, sometimes it just isn't good. But, the same can be said about most vegetables and fruits.

CD

 

[Rocklobster]

I like mine dipped in 2 oz vodka, 8 ounce Clamato, Worcestershire, Tabasco, lemon, pepper,…..

Actually, now that I look at those photos, I either ate it already or threw it out

 

[karadekoolaid]

Crispy celery - YUM! Fill it with blue cheese. Use it as a crudité with la bagna cauda. Use it as part of a classic mirepoix : 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery. Soup it up with potatoes and cream. You can also braise the stuff and serve it with Sunday Lunch!

 

[kaneohegirlinaz]

I have to agree with Supadupa sometimes, not all, Celery does have a soapy flavor to it.
I'm not a fan of it all by it's self, but stuff it with Pimento Cheese and I could eat the entire head (or until the Cheese is all gone )!

 

[Morning Glory]

Celery tastes slightly of aniseed and there are some people who really don't like that taste. Fennel and celeriac also fall into the 'anise' category of tastes and go particularly well with fish. Personally I love all things anise flavoured but if you don't like raw celery then using it cooked in a vegetable or meat stew will add a layer of flavour without a dominant anise flavour.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

I am a big fan of celery. I also use its leaves to put in tomato sauce or even make a pesto from it to season pasta.

 

[Windigo]

Stuff celery sticks with hummus, coronation chicken, tuna salad or whatever else you can use as a filling.

I can't eat celery due to my lack of a colon, it's too fibrous , can't eat fennel either ( only the seeds).

 

[kaneohegirlinaz]

Uh! Celery sticks and Hummus, especially homemade ... thank you TastyReuben for your recipe!
I look at Celery as a vehicle for other foods.
A nice thick Ranch Dressing/Dip, a good Clam Dip (my Aunt made the best and no one in the family got her recipe before she pasted!).

 

[Frizz1974]

It’s a nope from me too.

I will tolerate small amounts raw in salads and it’s essential in a lot of euro stews and soups but don’t expect to see me snacking on it.

Even with peanut butter I’m not really keen.


I will in fact use fennel bulb instead in some Italian things.

 

[Frizz1974]

Celery tastes slightly of aniseed and there are some people who really don't like that taste. Fennel and celeriac also fall into the 'anise' category of tastes and go particularly well with fish. Personally I love all things anise flavoured but if you don't like raw celery then using it cooked in a vegetable or meat stew will add a layer of flavour without a dominant anise flavour.

I love the anise profile. Licorice is my favourite for sweets and I adore things full of fennel & star anise etc.

I would never describe celery as being part of this.

Salty. Bitter. Bland. Watery.

 

[Morning Glory]

I love the anise profile. Licorice is my favourite for sweets and I adore things full of fennel & star anise etc.

I would never describe celery as being part of this.

Salty. Bitter. Bland. Watery.

Its interesting you say that because I find the anise taste quite distinctive (though mild). I'm beginning to wonder if the aversion some people have to celery is in some way genetic - due to taste buds. I mean, rather as cilantro/coriander tastes 'soapy' to some, the anise ptofile in celery tastes bitter or chemical. I suppose its also possible that celery grown in other countries tastes a bit different from in the UK.

I think the the leaves of celery have a slightly stronger anise flavour.

Here is Nikki Segnit from The Flavour Thesaurus:

'The stalks of celery have a rather more salty, anise character, whereas celeriac is mild and adds root vegetable sweetness and earthiness to the celery flavour'

I rather like braised celery stalks with cheese sauce. I haven't made that in a long time...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I suppose its also possible that celery grown in other countries tastes a bit different from in the UK.

The taste is also down to the variety of celery grown. I grew 2 varieties in my veg plot this year, one was very green (not self blanching) and the other much more yellow (self blanching via daylight). The green one was a very strong flavour, the yellowy one was much milder.

I can also remember by grandparents growing celery and tying newspaper around the base of the celery to blanch it as it grew, depriving the lower parts of the stems of sunlight so that the celery was more mild in flavour.

As with all veg, it is variety grown, sunlight and with celery in particular water and nutrients in the soil that influence its flavour.