Super celery (Celery)

Member Name: juleshobs

Product:	Celery
Date:	26/04/09 (143 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: May stop you going mad - low in calories

Disadvantages: It is an aquired taste

Sitting eating our evening meal yesterday which was salad based due to some nice weather I decided that I would write about one item that is always in my salad but has a love / hate relationship with most people - good old celery.

What a really boring thing to write about some may think but celery is actually an extremely versatile vegetable with many uses and is good for you also so lets have a look at my friend celery in a bit more detail.

Most people seem to associate eating celery as being on a diet as it is very low in calories only 6 calories for every 3 sticks you eat approx and apparently you consume more calories eating it than it contains. It is also very high in fibre and water content and eating a couple stick of celery does give you a 'full' feeling.

Celery has been around for about 3000 years and you may be interested to know that originally it was not considered as a food but as a medicine (some may agree that it tastes like a nasty medicine) in Asia used to treat high blood pressure. Celery is also apparently good for your blood pressure due to the high potassium content which can counteract the effects of too much salt in your diet, so does this mean if I cover my stick of celery in salt is has no effect on anything at all - hmm one to ponder over.

From an article in the timesonline I also noted that researchers have found that celery generates compounds that may fight mental health problems such as Alzheimers and other degenerative diseases. Apparently if this research is proven over time this will put celery into the super food category.

Enough about the health benefits, what can I do with a stick of celery?

Starting with the obvious chop a stick of celery and add it to a salad, fresh celery is extremely crunchy and can an interesting texture to a boring plate of lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Personally I like to add peppers, radish and beetroot to a salad also not only because I like the taste but they also add colour and texture and feel that my salad is a lot more interesting this way.

You can of course just sit an munch on a couple of sticks of celery as a snack, a friend of mine likes to do this but does sprinkle with salt first. You could have a dip to accompany your celery but if you are on a diet take care here as shop bought dips are high in fat and calories - make your own using plain low fat yoghurt and add your own flavour- chilli flakes or garlic for eg. Spreading with cream cheese is delicious but again high fat and calorie value.

Is celery just a summer food? No it isn't celery is much more versatile that you may think and can be cooked as well as eaten raw. Some ideas for your celery are:-

Braised celery - chop into pieces and braise for 10 to 15 minutes and have as a side dish, the firmer outside stalks are best for this as they keep their shape.

Chop the stalks diagonally and add to a stir fry, again use the outside stalks for this as they will retain their crunch once cooked - max 6 minutes for stir frying, there is nothing worse than soggy vegetables in a stir fry.

Use in a soup or stew, my children will eat celery if they can't see it or don't know that a soup or stew contains celery so this is a good way to sneak in that extra vegetable for the fussy eater, of course the same applies to most other vegetables also.

Where can I find celery? Celery is normally available in most supermarkets or grocers store though the price will vary from store to store. To get the best shelf life from your celery you need to keep in your fridge and this way will keep fresh for 1 to 2 weeks.

Can I grow celery myself? Yes but you need to be patient as celery takes about 5 months to grow. Celery is grown from seed and you need to have a good fertile soil with plenty of manure, once seeds have germinated and your junior plants reach a height of 8cm you can then plant out. Seeds should be planted in March for the UK climate in order to get best growing results. When planting out remember that your celery does not like really hot sunny positions and will be tough an stringy as a result, soil needs to be kept moist. Caring for your celery plant is not as hard as caring for some others, you just really need to ensure that it is well watered and you keep it weed free. Once your plant is ready to be cut, you harvest by cutting near the bottom of the plant above the soil line so that all stalks stay as one unit, however, if you are not going to use the whole plant you can just remove the stalks that you need immediately, this way you have fresh celery every time.

Personally I love celery in salads or as a crunchy snack with some humous right throughout the summer months. In the winter I will use in soups sometimes but don't eat as much celery as I do in the summer.

Summary: good all round vegetable