World's Ugliest Vegetable

[digitS']

I posted this link back in the late winter, 2010. The Vegetable World's Ugly Duckling: Celeriac

Here is some of my 2010 harvest yesterday:

It will take more than scrubbing to get these roots clean. You'll wonder if you've pared off half the crop before you've cleaned away all the dirt!

I don't have a special recipe for celery root. I just eat a fair amount of mashed potatoes during the winter and add it to the potatoes about 2 to 1. It doesn't really require that much celery root to give the mashed potatoes a pleasant celery flavor but, you can't go wrong cubing and tossing in some more of the world's ugliest vegetable.

Like potatoes, celery root is starch, starch, starch. Mix 'em in with the spuds as much as you'd like!

Steve

 

[vfem]

It sure does taste good though, haven't grown it, but maybe I should!?

 

[digitS']

Sure you should, V !

In your climate, it probably could be direct-seeded to the garden.

I must dink around with the little plants in the greenhouse. Oh, they aren't too tuff - very much like parsley. And, the seed germinates well.

Transplants without problems but something unusual went wrong mid-season this year. About 10%+ of the plants began to turn yellow but nearly all recovered after the hot/dry weather passed. They are still growing out there!

One could also use the leaves thru the summer for flavoring things . . .

I seriously doubt if I could grow actual celery. The stuff I see that others grow around here doesn't look worth the effort.

Steve

 

[Collector]

You are right about that they are ugly, I bet they do taste good though.

 

[hoodat]

I've never tried growing it but I've had it in salad. The one who made the salad used a potato peeler to cut it into thin strips.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I dice it into bite sized chunks, cook it til barely tender and serve it with a french vinagrette (oil, lemon juice or vinegar, powdered mustard, salt and pepper) You can let it marinade in the vinagrette for several hours or overnight.

Almost forgot, I like garlic in it also.

 

[digitS']

I don't believe that I've ever eaten it raw . . . isn't that strange?

It has been in my garden for a few years. I first grew it only about 7 or 8 years ago but it has become an important crop .

Here are Celery Root's friends:

And, here is how they end up:

note the "floating" spoon )

Steve

 

[Collector]

Mmm. Mmm. That sure looks like a hearty meal. That makes me hungry.

 

[journey11]

Those pics look good enough to be in a magazine, especially the one with the sunflowers,etc.

I had read about celeriac in my root cellar book and thought it sounded good. I don't know if I'd have the patience to grow regular celery either.

Are the stalks worth using for anything?

 

[digitS']

The stalks seem very fibrous, Journey.

I once grew "parcel," also known as "leaf celery." It is supposed to be Apium graveolens, just like celery. As best as I understand.

I really think celeriac could be used just the same way as parcel and it is also an Apium graveolens.

(BTW - parsley is something else and sticking part of that word into the name of par-cel just confuses things.)

Steve