How to cook Celery

Celery can be eaten raw in salads or chopped up and cooked with vegetables such as onions, carrots and leeks as a base for soups, sauces and casseroles. The larger outer stalks are best for cooking, while the inner stalks are more tender, so ideal for eating raw. Celery is also lovely braised whole. Don’t throw away the leaves – you can add them to salads or sprinkle them over soups as a garnish. Celeriac, which is the swollen root of a related plant, is best mashed, steamed, roasted or grated raw into a salad.

HOW TO PREPARE CELERY

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WHAT IS CELERY?

Celery is a vegetable, and belongs to a plant family called apiaceae, which includes parsley, coriander and carrots. We eat the stem and leaves of the plant. Wild celery is called ‘smallage’. It’s stringier and more bitter than the celery we buy.

WHEN IS CELERY IN SEASON?

Celery is in season from July to February.

HOW TO STORE CELERY

Celery should be kept in the fridge.

What are the health benefits?

Celery is a source of potassium, which helps keep our blood pressure healthy. It also helps to control the balance of fluids in the body, and keeps our heart muscle working properly.