MRS BEETON was an enthusiast, offering recipes for celery fried, stewed, with macaroni, with cream, in a white sauce, with chestnuts as a salad and as a constituent in clear mock-turtle soup (the basis of which was half a calf’s head). Celery endures. Oliver, Fearnley-Whittingstall, Stein, Slater, Blumenthal, the Hairy Bikers: popular chefs without exception proclaim its virtue uncooked, as the central feature of a dish and as a constituent. Its oil and its salt enliven sundry recipes— where would a Bloody Mary be without it? Celery figures strongly in French soups and sauces and, together with onions and bell peppers, is one of the holy trinity of Creole and Cajun cuisine.
Dieticians quote a low glycemic index, with vitamins A, B2, B6, C and K, together with potassium, manganese, pantothenic acid, a low sodium and calorie count, a strong antioxidant presence, benefits against cholesterol, digestive inflammation, rheumatism, high blood pressure and blood sugar, and plenty of dietary fibre, despite celery being 95% water. Celery juice has quite recently joined the faddish pantheon of health drinks, claims embracing the possible prevention of cancer, heart disease and degenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, and even the boosting of male fertility. In addition, its diuretic and depurative qualities are recommended as part of a weight-loss regime.
What of that keen gastronomic enjoyment? When it comes to the crunch, what about that spicy flavour, that savoury aroma, the unique tang that celery brings to every dish it graces? Biochemistry informs us that these virtues are mainly the combined result of butylphthalide and sedanolide, a splendid thing to know, but, long before the lab technicians got to work, our forebears knew a good thing when they took a succulent bite of the individual stalk (to be pedantic, the stalk is a petiole, a whole bunch is a stick).
Denne historien er fra January 13, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra January 13, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds