Celery is a marshland plant cultivated as vegetable for thousands of years and is eaten all around the world. It is a most popular vegetable because of the fact that it is very cheap but full of vitamins, it has medicinal values too as its extract is used in many medicines. Most of the people use this vegetable as healthy snacks and some as additional dish with their meals. Celery like many other fresh vegetable gets spoiled if not stored properly. We know that shelf life of any fresh vegetable depends upon the way we store them.
Similarly unless you know how to store celery to increase its shelf life you may not be able to make use of this vegetable to its optimum, because it loses its taste very soon and get spoiled. The formula of use for celery goes like many other fresh vegetables use by date, the purchase date is considered for this purpose. However if fresh whole celery is stored in the fridge it may last for 3 to 4 weeks, and if it is packaged then 2 to 3 days and if cooked it may last for one week. We must know to prevent food borne illness it is essential to practice hygiene and food safety techniques.
How long does celery last is a question that arises in mind of many people. How to ascertain whether celery is spoiled or rotten, fresh celery is in stacks and if starts spreading out from the bunch then it is not fresh, it should have firm green colour and if it is spoiled will turn whitish in colour and hollow in the middle.
Although the celery shelf life in general is eat by date means the date you purchase, but some techniques can be followed while storing celery to increase its shelf life. It is recommended to store it as whole rapped in a wet paper or towel finally wrapped in foil paper then store it in the refrigerator’s vegetable bin. It can also be stored in a sealed plastic bag or in plastic container specially made for celery to accommodate whole and keep it in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. To enjoy the crisp celery after washing cut them into strips and place them a container of ice water within few hours limp stalks absorb enough water to be changed into crisp and crunchy celery. You can place the container into refrigerator to enjoy the crisped celery for few more days. For a longer option of storage it can be frozen 6 to 8 months, but make sure it is blanched first and then placed in a freezer. It is found that defrosted celery become soft and best used for cooking.
Celery is very rich in vitamins and minerals but low in calories thus making it very beneficial and useful healthy vegetable. Keeping celery fresh can add crunch to soups and also you can make use as salad and snacks. Make sure to discard if celery has gone bad, not to compromise with your health. Make sure you wash it thoroughly before using.