On the history of Celery

[Jenise]

I have oft opined that celery is the most under-appreciated vegetable in the produce aisle. I have it in my crisper drawer always, but then I'm a fan. Beyond it's job in a classic mirepoix, I use it in salads and soups. In contrast, we had wine with friends last night who have probably never bought celery even once in their 28 years of marriage. More normal is probably the family who only buy it for tuna sandwiches or potato salad.

But once upon a time it was a culinary treasure as evidenced by its presence as Baked Celery on the First Class Menus of various trans-Atlantic cruise lines, and the fact that the Sandwich glass company (which closed in 1888) made something called a 'celery vase' for featuring spears on the dinner table. Just this morning I was admiring a photo of one featured on a post in a Facebook page I love called Eating History.

Contributing to that thread was Frank Deis, who used to post here often and who actually collects Sandwich glass and owns a celery vase or two. Someone else knew someone with a collection of over 50 different celery vases all originating in those times.

And yet someone else mentioned the naturalist John Burroughs who actually had a celery farm in upstate New York. He or she provided a link to this website:

https://www.celeryfarm.net/2014/04/john ... ydPjCusCi5
which is worth a look.

[David M. Bueker]

Of all the things...

I despise celery. Never liked it before, and since my concussion in 2010 the smell of it dominates anything it touches for me. It ruins food the way Cilantro does for other people.

[Jenise]

In other words: you're part of the problem. Just teasing but I take it you didn't like celery even before the concussion? I remember the long while you suffered while waiting for your sense of smell to come back, period. Are there other aromas that came back different, or more intense? And do you find celery notes in some Beaujolais (I do) or other wines?

We love celery here in the Pumpkin Patch. It's crisp when raw, it keeps some texture when sauteed, I have now eaten not one but two totally amazing celery ice cream desserts. A fine vegetable.

David is not alone, though. Once, when looking for black pudding recipes -- because Pumpkin likes Scottish things -- I came across a website where the author reminded us just how much he loathes celery.

I'm a fan, although rarely eat it raw. Mostly sauteed, with tofu, in various Asian preparations.

Also a big fan of the leaves as an herb. They are very plentiful and have good flavor.

My crisper drawer is always occupied by a large bunch of celery. I look for the ones that are organic and usually have a good bunch of leaves left on them. Years ago, someone suggested to stop taking a stock off of the bunch for cutting. Instead, lay the celery down and chop the amount you need from the top down. You get the great leaves this way and some talk about the celery lasting longer. I dont know about lasting but I do know it is the best and easiest way to chop it. I wonder why I never thought of doing that earlier. I use it in soups, casseroles, my family chili recipe, raw in many salads, and sometimes I tear off a stalk and fill it with a cheese spread, which in my day was a very popular appetizer and I still love it now.

I look for the ones that are organic and usually have a good bunch of leaves left on them. Years ago, someone suggested to stop taking a stock off of the bunch for cutting. Instead, lay the celery down and chop the amount you need from the top down. You get the great leaves this way and some talk about the celery lasting longer.

I know there are all sorts of celery varieties, and the ones I see in the supermarket are often quite pale and have the leaves trimmed. But the celery I buy from the farmers market around here tend to be quite heavy on the leaves, it's even difficult to keep using them all!

I'm a big celery fan. Celery is of course part of the Cajun Trinity (onions, celery, green bell peppers).

American-type celery tends to have bigger, more watery stalks and a blander flavor than Chinese celery, which has much narrower stalks and a more assertive flavor. I personally haven't found the difference significant enough to actively seek out Chinese celery.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Also a big fan of the leaves as an herb. They are very plentiful and have good flavor.

The Dutch and Belgians are such fans that the leaves are removed and packaged separately--it's the classic ingredient for seasoning a vat of mussels. Similarly, I value them for seasoning a pot of chicken soup and absolutely hate that American grocers chop off the tops. Even my beloved Co-ops do that so they fit in a smaller bin. Always buy at the Farmers Market--with all the leaves still attached--whenever possible.

Never without celery. We mostly use in cooking in a mirepoix or similar, but sometimes do braised celery. As good celery with leaves comes to farmers market, we'll certainly do a favorite recipe where you marinate celery, chickpeas and scallions overnight, then stir in lots of celery leaf and top with parmesan.

...we'll certainly do a favorite recipe where you marinate celery, chickpeas and scallions overnight, then stir in lots of celery leaf and top with parmesan.

Interesting idea. So the chickpeas are already cooked, and then this is essentially a marinated salad? But no mention of liquid/fat/vinegar/acid during the marination?

Yes to mirepoix and no to munching it raw - blandness punctuated by the 'string' in it. Our parents thought it was 'chefy' to fill chunks of celery with cheese whiz - haut cuisine for 1950s bridge club meetings. Good stuff in soups. I'm a celeriac root fan, though.

...we'll certainly do a favorite recipe where you marinate celery, chickpeas and scallions overnight, then stir in lots of celery leaf and top with parmesan.

Interesting idea. So the chickpeas are already cooked, and then this is essentially a marinated salad? But no mention of liquid/fat/vinegar/acid during the marination?

Well yes there is a dressing/marinade, I think sherry vinegar based, but maybe balsamic-a little sweetness. Canned garbanzos usually, though I do occasionally do dried in pressure cooker.
Bill, no cheese whiz, but my parents did same with cream cheese or pimento cheese (Southern US thing).

ok, found, sweetness is maple syrup or honey.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/101 ... d-parmesan

YOur parents thought it was 'chefy' to fill chunks of celery with cheese wiz - haut cuisine for 1950s bridge club meetings.

Mine did, too.

I'm a celeriac root fan, though.

Me, too. Very nice in lots of ways... pureed for soup or "mash", sliced for steaks, julienned for salads....

...we'll certainly do a favorite recipe where you marinate celery, chickpeas and scallions overnight, then stir in lots of celery leaf and top with parmesan.

Interesting idea. So the chickpeas are already cooked, and then this is essentially a marinated salad? But no mention of liquid/fat/vinegar/acid during the marination?

Well yes there is a dressing/marinade, I think sherry vinegar based, but maybe balsamic-a little sweetness. Canned garbanzos usually, though I do occasionally do dried in pressure cooker..

Got it. Interesting idea. Thanks.

Ah yes, celery filled with pimento cheese out of those little jars....are those still on the market? Very chefy when I was growing up.I now use an herb and garlic cheese wrapped in foil, or a cheese spread which has wine. Cannot remember the names yet....just got up and not quite with it at the moment.

Growing up I was fond of Wispride spreadable cheese, especially the port wine flavor. This is one of those concoctions where cheese is more an ingredient rather than the substance itself. US labeling law mandates "pasteurized processed cheese food"* as the closest that they can get to calling this stuff "cheese".

Wispride used to be sold in ceramic crocks. One of the software groups I worked with used to hand out a "techneek and organization" award to the engineer who screwed up the worst in the past week. It was a Wispride cheese crock stuffed with creepy crawlers (a crock full of bugs). Wispride is still on the market, but in plastic tubs, not ceramic crocks.

-Paul W.

* I recall someone in FLDG remarking, "I don't know why they call it cheese food. I put some in the fridge and the cheese won't touch it."

I remember Wispride. All those sorts of places would include 'cheese products' in their gift baskets. I remember Fiji's, in particular, but I was just recently sent a basket from some Napa Valley place and it included a manufactured smoked cheese.

Harry & David's.

Stuff like this: https://www.chelseamarketbasket.com/product/A-Toast-to

Then there were semi-real products, like Boursin and La Vache Qui Rit.

Boursin is still around. I like it. There is a copycat competitor called Alouette. Apparently they managed to clone the Boursin culture. The two products were almost identical. Alouette initially offered a plain version (no garlic or herbs) and that was my favorite. Unfortunately the plain version was discontinued. Google shows that Alouette is still around, but not around here. But I can (and do) get Boursin.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I hate that processed cheese food crap. Costco sells a lot of it so I see a lot of it at various social events, wasabi-flavor, smoke-flavor, etc--brought by people who don't understand (or care about) the difference between that and real cheese. I hate them. Don't like the flavors but even more find the grainy texture pretty poor.

However I love Boursin. Forgot about it for about 20 years but now that it's a staple at Costco (a three pack for virtually the same price any grocer around here sells just one for) but ever since I started blending it with smoked fish to make pates, I pretty much never NOT have it. Also love to put one in a pot with roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic to make a one-pot sauce for hot pasta.
It's a great dish.

Then there were semi-real products, like Boursin and La Vache Qui Rit.

It turns out that Boursin is real cheese. It's a type of cream cheese first made in Normandy by m. Boursin in the 19th century. One common French party dish had each guest take a dollop of creamy cheese and add to it condiments such as garlic, herbs, chives etc. Boursin was the first to sell such cheese with the garlic, herbs, and chives already mixed in. The manufacturers use the trade name Gournay Cheese, but that isn't anything official.

-Paul W.

Interesing. Thanks, Paul.