Celery Undressed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrape the outside stalks of the celery and cut off the green tops and roots.
Split the stalks into thirds with a sharp knife, being careful not to break them.
To fringe the stalks, use coarse needles and a cork to draw the stalk halfway through several times, then refrigerate to curl and crisp.
Soak and serve
Soak the celery in cold water until ready to serve, then change the water and let it stand for 3‑4 minutes.
For crisp celery, soak in ice water for 2 hours before serving.
Serve 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
- Provides the crisp, fibrous stalk that the soaking and fringing transform into curls.
- Cold water
- Soaking in cold water keeps the stalks hydrated and crisp until serving.
- Ice water
- Chilling the stalks in ice water firms the cell walls for a crisper bite.
The step that matters
Fringing the stalks. Drawing the stalk halfway through with needles and a cork must be done carefully, because the stalk can split or break. Refrigeration afterward is what makes the cut strands curl and crisp.
“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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