Celery is a medical wonder for vegans and everyone who would like to take advantage of its numerous health benefits. The best way to get the most of their nutritional benefits is to consume it fresh – whether in a salad or as a juice.
Talking about fresh consumption, this means you need to have it 100% clean. Most of these vegetables are not organically grown. This is why you need to have the vegetable cleaned. In this article, we will see how to clean celery and prepare it for consumption. And to get the best juices, you need to have the best celery juicers.
Do I need to clean root celery?
Stem or root celery (known as celeriac) is famous for its root vegetable, which is eaten. Before using the root in your recipes, it has to be cleaned and peeled. It is used to make soups, fresh salads, and other dishes.
To facilitate root cleaning, you need to choose the right one:
- the root must be large;
- must have smooth skin;
- must have nodes;
- The leaves above must be green.
Attention! The fresh root has a pronounced taste. And the ancient plant has an umbrella with seeds. Its taste is a bit bitter.
Do I need to clean stalked celery?
Stalks of celery should be cleaned if it is old. The fibers of this plant are tough and not so pretty. But the young shoots do not need cleaning. It’s enough to rinse under running water and can be eaten fresh.
When choosing stalked celery, you need to pay attention to the shoots. They must be bright green, juicy, crisp, without visible damage.
If the stalks no longer have some leaves, and the shoots are brown, then the greens are stale. It’s better not to buy them. After all, essential oils are contained in stalks.
Note: Young shoots are brightly colored and grow inside the beam.
How to clean the celery
Each type of celery has its cleaning methods. Therefore, you must first determine which part will be eaten.
In this type of vegetable, a thickened lower part of the stem or the root is used as food. Before preparing celery for juice or salad, for example, the celery must be properly cleaned.
- Gently remove soil debris from the root, then rinse under running water.
- Cut off the top and bottom of the root with a knife.
- Divide the vegetable into several parts.
- Peel the skin with a special knife or a vegetable cutter. Peel only the desired piece.
- Cut out all contaminated spots or dark spots. After cleaning, only the white fleshy part should remain.
- Rinse the clean root under the tap, then leave it in water so it does not darken.
Tips for Cleaning Celery
- Once the celery is cleaned, peeled, and sees fresh open air, it begins oxidation immediately. So, you have to use it immediately or refrigerate it. If not, it will begin to darken.
- After cleaning, the thick portion of the pulp is used to make soups or broths. For cooking celery, the soft part is cut into cubes, straws, slices, or grated.
- Celery leaf is one of the most fragrant species. Its tender greens are rich in vitamins and micro-elements. In this variety, the stems and tubers are not suitable for food, as they are thick and thin. The greens have a strong ethereal scent.
- Proper cleaning of celery is not enough to enjoy its flavor. It is necessary to know how to prepare or cook vegetables. Stew the root until cooked under the lid, until tender. When cooked, the color of the vegetable changes from white to light cream.
- Like all vegetable products, when left for long, the pulp loses its beneficial properties, fades, and cracks. It is not advisable to keep a vegetable in a package. This reduces the shelf life.
- Fresh celery lasts about a week. Store celery in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil. The most valuable of these vegetables will remain fresh. However, after heat treatment, most of the useful components oxidize very fast and must be used immediately.
Cutting & Washing Celery
Conclusion
The cleaning of celery is a very important, albeit simple, process in the making of celery recipes. Cut off all the stems and roots. Then remove dry, yellow, or lose leaves. The vegetables are washed well and cut with a sharp knife. The roots are cleaned and peeled. Also, when choosing leaf celery, you need to pay attention to its appearance. Greens should be juicy, smooth, fragrant.