Okay, ladies, this is a problem most of us have experienced from time to time. Oh, it isn’t that serious, to be sure. But, celery not longer costs $.69 a stalk. In fact, this year here in the south a stalk of celery costs almost $2.00. Sure, there is plenty of celery in a complete stalk but we all know what can happen to it if we don’t use it immediately. It gets as limp as our hair on a rainy day.
I can’t tell you how many times I have brought home a nice crisp stalk of celery and before I could use the first piece, it had started to soften. By the time I was down to the last two or three branches it was looking more like cooked green spaghetti than celery. Let’s face it, we can use those limp pieces for cooking but no one wants to use soft celery for a salad.
What can we do? The answer is so simple that it took me several decades to figure it out. And, I’m still wondering why no one every told me. Maybe it is something we should all know. Maybe it is something I slept through in that boring home economics class.
Here is the answer! If you decide to keep the celery in that plastic bag, make sure the bag has no holes in it. Add enough water to the bag to almost cover the bottom of the stalk. I prop the bag (and the stalk) up a little in the crisper to keep the water near the base. Or, buy a plastic container to stand up the celery in — depends on the space in your refrigerator. Either way, add enough water to feed the celery. Like asparagus, celery needs water to stay crisp.
Basically, what happens is that when the celery starts to lose moisture is gets limp. So, keep the celery moist from the root area and it will stay crisp for as long as it lasts! And, ladies, that’s my tip of the day.
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