Celery Undressed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrape the outer stalks of the celery and cut off the green tops and roots.
Soak the celery in cold water until ready to serve, then change the water and let it sit for 3-4 minutes.
Split the stalks into thirds with a sharp knife, being careful not to break them.
Crisp and fringe
For crisp celery, soak in ice water for 2 hours before serving.
To fringe the stalks, insert several coarse needles into a cork and draw the stalk halfway through the needles several times, then refrigerate to curl and crisp.
Serve
Serve the celery in goblet-shaped salad glasses.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Celery
- Its water-filled cells give the stalks their crisp, crunchy bite when kept hydrated.
- Cold water
- Soaking lets the stalks absorb water, firming the cells and restoring crispness.
- Ice water
- Very cold soaking firms the stalks further, keeping them crisper for longer.
The step that matters
Soaking in ice water for crispness. Celery crispness depends on its cells holding water. A short or warm soak leaves the stalks limp, while a long ice-water soak lets the cells fully absorb water and firm up.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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