FoodFood InformationVegetablesRoot Vegetables
Celeriac is not one of our more popular vegetables, perhaps because itresembles an unwashed horseradish root. Yet beneath its unattractive, unglamorousshell lies a flavorful, crisp, cream-colored, smooth-textured flesh thattastes like celery. It can be used raw in fresh salads or as a cooked vegetableand it is an important ingredient in soups. While it is not much of a sellerin the United States, it is very popular in northern Europe. Here at home,fresh celeriac is available every month but June and July.
When harvested, celeriac looks like coarse green celery attached to a rough-lookingbulbous root. In late summer and early fall it comes to market usually tiedin bunches that have three knobs and with the celery-like greens attached.The greens are too coarse to use raw as table celery, but if they are freshand have not begun to yellow, they make a fine soup green. After the firstfrost the celeriac is shipped to market minus the greens and sold as a rootvegetable by the pound.
Select firm medium-sized knobs; small ones have too much waste when peeledand large knobs are apt to be hollow or woody. Pressure on any darker areasof the skin will expose decay that otherwise might be hidden by the roughexterior.
If stored in a cool, moist area, such as underground in root cellars orin the refrigerator, the shelf life of celeriac can be measured in weeksand even months. When served raw, the exposed flesh tends to discolor. Thisdiscoloration can be retarded by adding a few drops of vinegar or lemonjuice. When cooking celeriac, they will be easier to peel after they havebeen boiled.
Forty or fifty years ago, when we didn't have a wide array of fresh vegetablesduring the winter and early spring months, celeriac was available in mostretail produce stores at very modest prices. Then it all but disappearedfrom the produce counters until about ten years ago, when it started tobe featured in cookbooks and magazines. It is now making a slow comeback,not as a staple but as a gourmet food, selling of course at gourmet prices.
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