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Celeriac
Apium graveolens var. rapaceum · Root vegetable
40 pairings
Celeriac, or celery root, is the swollen, knobbly, edible base of Apium graveolens var. rapaceum — a cultivar of wild celery bred not for its stalks but for the dense, ivory-fleshed mass at the crown of the plant. Beneath a rough, gnarled brown skin lies firm, pale flesh that tastes of celery crossed with nutty parsley: clean, savoury, faintly sweet and earthy. A humble, long-keeping winter vegetable, it is grated raw into the classic French céleri rémoulade, puréed and mashed with potato, roasted into wedges, or simmered into soups and stocks.
Picking a good onedrag
Rock-hard, just liftedLight, spongy, sprouting
Shop firmThe all-rounder: raw, roast, puree, stock.Everyday best
CrownStubs cut flat, dry and pale
Weight in the handFirm, weight about right for the size
Skin and rootletsRougher, deeper crevices, clean scars
Smell at the crownFaint celery, mostly earth
What to look for, from rock-hard, just lifted to light, spongy, sprouting.
What one gives you
86%
Usable yield
688 g · skin, rootlets and crown off
800 g
Typical weight
one specimen
Keeping ittap a band
A domestic fridge holds it about 13× longer than the counter.
Humidity
95-99%
Moisture loss is what kills it: bag it or bury it in damp sand. Bare in a dry fridge the root goes light and spongy inside.
Airflow
Moderate
A slatted crate or a perforated bag: it respires enough to want moving air, but shut in tight it sweats and rots at the crown.
Toughens beside the fruit bowl
Barely produces any itself but is mildly sensitive: apples and pears toughen the flesh over weeks, and the porous root takes up their smell.