What is celery?
A: Celery (Apium graveolens) is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae
that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity.
Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into what?
A: Leaves.
Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks,
leaves or hypocotyl are what?
A: Eaten and used in cooking.
Celery seed powder is used as a what?
A: A spice.
Celery is a biennial plant that occurs where?
A: Around the globe.
It produces flowers and seeds only during what?
A: Its second year.
The first cultivation is thought to have happened in
the Mediterranean region, where the natural habitats were what?
A: Salty and wet, or marshy soils near the coast where celery grew in agropyro-rumicion-plant communities.
North of the Alps, wild celery is found only in the
foothill zone on soils with what?
A: Some salt content.
The plants are raised from seed, sown where?
A: Either in a hot bed or in the open garden according to the season of the year.
Celery was first grown as a what?
A: A winter and early
spring vegetable.
It was considered a cleansing tonic to counter what?
A: The deficiencies of a winter diet based on salted meats without fresh
vegetables.
In North America, commercial production of celery is
dominated by what cultivar?
A: The cultivar called 'Pascal' celery.
The stalks can be eaten raw, or as an ingredient in
salads, or as a flavoring in what?
A: Soups, stews, and pot roasts.
The wild form of celery is known as what?
A: Smallage.
It has a furrowed stalk with wedge-shaped leaves, the
whole plant having a coarse, earthy what?
A: Taste, and a distinctive smell.
Harvesting occurs when the average size of celery in a
field is what?
A: Marketable; due to extremely uniform crop growth, fields are harvested
only once.
Under optimal conditions, how long can celery be stored
for?
A: Up to seven weeks from 0–2 °C (32–36 °F).
Inner stalks may continue growing if kept at
temperatures above what?
A: 0 °C (32 °F).
Celery stalk may be preserved through pickling by doing
what?
A: First removing the leaves, then boiling the stalks in water before
finally adding vinegar, salt, and vegetable oil.
In the past, restaurants used to store celery in a
container of water with powdered vegetable preservative, but it was found
that the sulfites in the preservative caused what?
A: Allergic reactions in some people.
Celery, onions, and bell peppers are the "holy trinity"
of what?
A: Louisiana Creole and Cajun cuisine.
Celery, onions, and carrots make up the French what?
A: Mirepoix, often used as a base for sauces and soups.
Celery leaves are frequently used in cooking to add a
mild spicy flavor to
foods, similar to, but milder than what?
A: Black pepper.
The seeds are actually very small fruit and these
"seeds" yield a valuable what?
A: Essential oil that is used in the perfume industry.
The oil contains what chemical compound?
A: Apiole.
Celery seeds can be used as flavoring or spice, either
as whole seeds or what?
A: Ground.
The seeds can be ground and mixed with salt to produce
what?
A: Celery salt.