Celery — season, tips, and recipes in New Zealand
Celery is a vegetables available in New Zealand during January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, peaking in March, April, May, June. This page is a practical guide for home cooks: when to buy celery, how to pick a good one, how to store it, what it goes well with, three original recipes, and detailed nutrition information.
The inner stalks (the heart) are more tender and less stringy than the outer ones. The leaves are edible and have more flavour than the stalks, excellent in salads and stocks.
How to pick a good one
Stalks should snap cleanly. Leaves should be bright green, not yellow. Heavier bunches are juicier. Avoid limp or rubbery stalks.
How to store it
Wrap in foil (not plastic) in the fridge. Lasts up to 3 weeks this way. Stand in water to revive limp stalks.
Goes well with
blue cheese: A structural combination: celery's water content and crunch clean the palate and moderate blue cheese's intensity. Classic accompaniment to buffalo wings and cheese boards for this reason.
peanut butter: Peanut butter's richness and salt against celery's watery crunch is the simplest version of fat-and-freshness contrast. The celery makes the peanut butter taste lighter.
apple: Apple's sweetness and celery's sharp, slightly bitter flavour are complementary in Waldorf salad and beyond. The textural combination of crunchy celery and firm apple is as important as the flavour.
walnut: Waldorf salad's success is based on walnut's bitterness and crunch against celery's clean, cool flavour. The combination is more than the sum of its parts.
Recipes
Waldorf Salad
Retro. Still delicious.
Ingredients: 4 stalks celery (sliced), 2 apples (diced), 50g walnuts, 3 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp lemon juice, handful grapes (halved)
Method: Toss celery, apple, grapes, walnuts with mayo and lemon. Season.
Braised Celery
Transforms boring celery into something silky.
Ingredients: 1 head celery, 200ml stock, 2 tbsp butter, 1 clove garlic, parmesan, salt
Method: Cut celery into 10cm lengths. Lay in dish. Add stock, butter, garlic. Cover with foil. Bake 180C for 40 min. Uncover, scatter parmesan, 10 more min.
Celery, Blue Cheese & Walnut Salad
Crunch, cream, crunch.
Ingredients: 4 stalks celery (sliced thin on diagonal), 80g blue cheese, 50g walnuts, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, black pepper
Method: Arrange celery on plate. Crumble cheese. Scatter walnuts. Dress with oil and lemon. Pepper.
Nutrition
One cup provides 30% of your daily vitamin K and 10% of your folate. Only 14 calories per cup. Contains apigenin, a flavonoid with anti-anxiety properties being actively studied in clinical trials. Also contains phthalides, compounds shown to help lower blood pressure. The old folk remedy of celery for blood pressure has genuine science behind it.