Celery Undressed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrape the outer stalks 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, insert several coarse needles into a cork and draw the stalk halfway through the needles 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 stalks
- Provide the crisp, fibrous texture that the soaking and splitting are meant to show off.
- Cold water
- Soaking in water lets the stalks absorb moisture, keeping them firm and crisp.
- Ice water
- Very cold water firms the cell walls further, producing a crisper stalk when soaked longer.
The step that matters
Splitting the stalks without breaking them. Celery's firmness comes from water-filled cells. Cutting with a sharp knife keeps the fibres intact, so the stalks stay whole and curl cleanly once soaked.
“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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