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Celery

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture;
Plants

                    iCelery
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Apiales
   Family:   Apiaceae
   Genus:    Apium
   Species:  A. graveolens

                                Binomial name

   Apium graveolens
   L.
            Celery, raw
   Nutritional value per 100 g
       Energy 10 kcal   60 kJ

   Carbohydrates           3 g
   - Sugars  2 g
   - Dietary fibre  1.6 g
   Fat                     0.2 g
   Protein                 0.7 g
   Water                   95 g
   Vitamin C  3 mg         5%
   Percentages are relative to US
   recommendations for adults.
   Source: USDA Nutrient database

   Celery (Apium graveolens dulce) is a herbaceous edible biennial plant
   in the family Apiaceae, native to the coasts of western and northern
   Europe, most commonly in ditches and saltmarshes. It grows to 1 m tall,
   with pinnate to bipinnate leaves with rhombic leaflets 3-6 cm long and
   2-4 cm broad. The flowers are creamy-white, 2-3 mm diameter, produced
   in dense compound umbels. The seeds are broad ovoid to globose, 1.5-2
   mm long and wide. Celeriac (Apium graveolens rapaceum) is closely
   related.

Etymology

   There is a widespread popular etymology that the word celery ("The Fast
   Vegetable") derives from the Latin word, celer, meaning fast or swift.
   This is entirely false — there is no connection between them. It
   actually comes from the Greek selinon, meaning parsley. A reference to
   selinon is found in Homer's Odyssey. The word celeri is found as early
   as a 9th century poem proclaiming the merits and medicinal uses of the
   plant, written in France or Italy.

   It passed through Latin, Italian and French before becoming the modern
   English word celery.

Cultivation and uses

   In North America, commercial production of celery is dominated by a
   variety called Pascal celery. Gardeners can grow a range of cultivars,
   many which differ little from the wild species, mainly in having
   stouter leaf stems. They are ranged under two classes, white and red;
   the white cultivars being generally the best flavoured, and most crisp
   and tender.

   The wild form of celery is known as smallage. It has a furrowed stalk
   with wedge-shaped leaves, the whole plant having a coarse, rank taste,
   and a peculiar smell. With cultivation and blanching, the stalks lose
   their acrid qualities and assume the mild, sweetish, aromatic taste
   peculiar to celery as a salad plant.

   The plants are raised from seed, sown either in a hot bed or in the
   open garden according to the season of the year, and after one or two
   thinnings out and transplantings they are, on attaining a height of
   15-20 cm, planted out in deep trenches for convenience of blanching,
   which is effected by earthing up to exclude light from the stems.

   In the past, celery was grown as a vegetable for winter and early
   spring; because of its antitoxic properties, it was perceived as a
   cleansing tonic, welcomed after the stagnation of winter.

Food uses

   Blanched celery head.
   Enlarge
   Blanched celery head.

   Both blanched and green it is stewed and used in soups, the seeds also
   being used as a flavouring ingredient. Even after long immersion in
   broth, the stalks remain somewhat crisp, and are useful for adding
   texture to the soup.

   In the south of Europe celery is seldom blanched, but is much used in
   its natural condition.

   Chopped, it is one of the three vegetables considered the holy trinity
   of Louisiana Creole and Cajun cuisine. It is also one of the three
   vegetables (together with onions and carrots) that constitute the
   French mirepoix, which is often used as a base for sauces and soups.

   Celery seed is used as a spice. When combined with salt, the resulting
   spice blend is called celery salt. Celery salt is used as an alternate
   to ordinary salt seasoning in various recipes and cocktails. It is
   notably used to enhance the flavor of Bloody Mary cocktails, the
   Chicago-style hot dog, and Old Bay Seasoning.

   Chinese celery or Oriental celery, has thinner stalks and a stronger
   flavor. It is rarely consumed raw, but is often added to soups and
   stir-fries.

Medicinal uses

   The whole plant is gently stimulant, nourishing, and restorative; it
   can be liquefied, with the juice taken for joint and urinary tract
   inflammations, such as rheumatoid arthritis, cystitis, or urethritis,
   for weak conditions, and for nervous exhaustion.

   The seeds, harvested after the plant flowers in its second year, are
   the basis for a homeopathic extract used as a diuretic. The extract is
   believed to help clear toxins from the system, so are especially good
   for gout, where uric acid crystals collect in the joints, and
   arthritis. They are also used as a mild digestive stimulant. The
   extract can be combined with almond or sunflower oil, and massaged into
   arthritic joints or for painful gout in the feet or toes.

   The root is an effective diuretic and has been taken for urinary stones
   and gravel. It also acts as a bitter digestive remedy and liver
   stimulant. A tincture can be used as a diuretic in hypertension and
   urinary disorders, as a component in arthritic remedies, or as a kidney
   energy stimulant and cleanser.

Caution

   Cross-section of a Pascal celery stalk.
     * Bergapten in the seeds could increase photosensitivity, so do not
       apply the essential oil externally in bright sunshine.
     * Avoid the oil and large doses of the seeds during pregnancy: they
       can act as a uterine stimulant.
     * Do not ingest seeds intended for cultivation, because they are
       often treated with fungicides.

Allergies from celery and celeriac

   Although many people enjoy foods made with celery, a small minority of
   people can have severe allergic reactions. For people with celery
   allergy, exposure can cause potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. The
   allergen does not appear to be destroyed at cooking temperatures.
   Celery root - commonly eaten as Celeriac, or put into drinks - is known
   to contain more allergen than the stalk. Celery is amongst a small
   group of foods (headed by peanuts) that appear to provoke the most
   severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). An allergic reaction also may
   be triggered by eating foods that have been processed with machines
   that have previously processed celery, making avoiding such foods
   difficult. In contrast with peanut allergy being most prevalent in the
   US, celery allergy is most prevalent in Central Europe.

History

   Known to the Ancient Greeks, celery has been found in deposits dating
   to the 9th century BC at Kastanas, as well as at 7th century BC Heraion
   on Samos. In Homer's Illiad, the horses of Myrmidons graze on wild
   celery that grows in the marshes of Troy, and in Odyssey there is
   mention of the meadows of violet and wild celerey surrounding the cave
   of Calypso (Fragiska, 2005).

   A chthonian symbol, celery was said to have sprouted from the blood of
   Kadmilos, father of the Cabers, chthonian divinities celebrated in
   Samothrace, Lemnos and Thebes. The spicy odour and dark leaf colour
   encouraged this association with the cult of death. In classical Greece
   celery leaves were used as garlands for the dead, and the wreaths of
   the winners at the Isthmian Games were first made of celery before
   being replaced by crowns made of pine. According to Pliny (Natural
   History XIX XLVI), in Archaia, the garland worn by the winners of the
   sacred contest at Nemea was also made of celery (Fragiska, 2005).

Trivia

     * There is a common belief that celery is so difficult for humans to
       digest, that it has 'negative calories' because human digestion
       burns more calories than can be extracted. Snopes believes this to
       be true, however at only 6kcal per rib, the effect is negligible.
       Celery is still valuable in diets, where it provides low-calorie
       fibre bulk.
     * The Class B Michigan-Ontario League, a minor league baseball league
       from the early 20th century, included a team called the Kalamazoo
       Celery Pickers.
     * Dr. Brown's makes a celery-flavored soft drink called Cel-Ray,
       which is sold mostly in the New York City region.
     * Rabbits eat a lot of celery. One may wonder if this means rabbits
       lose a lot of weight. However, a rabbit's natural flora of bacteria
       in their appendix includes micro-organisms which break down the
       cellulose in the celery into a form which the rabbit can absorb.
     * Exercise-induced anaphylaxis can be exacerbated by eating celery.
     * In the British science fiction series Doctor Who, the Fifth
       Doctor's costume included a piece of celery on the lapel. The
       reason for this was that he was allergic to certain gases in praxis
       range of the spectrum and in the presence of these gases, the
       celery turned purple. In this case, he ate the celery (for if
       nothing else he was sure it was good for his teeth).
     * The closely related Apium bermejoi from the island of Minorca is
       one of the rarest plants in Europe with only 60 individuals left.
     * The edible celery stalk is not a plant stem as often claimed. It is
       a petiole, which is part of a leaf.
     * Foley artists break stalks of celery into a microphone to simulate
       the sound of breaking bones.
     * Celery was banned from the Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium in 1996
       after the goalkeeper complained of being struck by celery thrown by
       spectators.
     * Some people report that eating raw celery makes their tongues and
       mouths numb.
     * Fans of Chelsea Football Club have been known to sing a saucy song
       in which they suggest they might use a "lump of celery" in order to
       tickle a lady's behind.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celery"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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