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Celery Undressed

Celery stalks prepared plain, soaked in cold or ice water, served chilled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Celery Undressed

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Scrape the outside of the celery stalks and cut off the green tops and roots.

  2. Split the stalks into thirds with a sharp knife, being careful not to break them.

Soak and crisp

  1. Soak the celery in cold water until ready to serve, then change the water and let it sit for 3-4 minutes.

  2. For crisp celery, soak in ice water for 2 hours before serving.

  3. To fringe the stalks, use coarse needles and a cork to curl them, then refrigerate to crisp.

Serve

  1. Serve in goblet‑shaped salad glasses.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 stalks
Provide the crisp, fibrous texture and fresh flavor that the dish is built around.
Ice water
Chills and firms the celery's cell structure, helping it stay crisp when served.

The step that matters

Soaking in ice water. Cold water enters the celery's cells and firms them, so the stalks become crisp. Soaking too briefly leaves them limp, and the stalks need time to absorb the water before serving.

“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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