A neighbour called yesterday with a little gift – a giant celery stalk and 25 oranges. Half an hour later another neighbour knocked on the door with half a dozen giant lemons.
“I was almost buried alive by the celery,” said Sharon. “Unfortunately, I can´t stand it. I don´t even like the smell.” The other half of the household loves celery and is talking about making a big batch of fresh celery soup.
Celery is native to the Mediterranean, so it’s a really local veg. The Greeks and Romans loved it. The Chinese were also keen and used it as a medicine. However, the plant didn´t really enter into the kitchen until 1623 when a French cook first served it. During the early 18th century its popularity spread, eaten both cooked and raw.
When we lived in New Zealand, the story was that Captain Cook found big bunches of celery growing there when he stopped on one of his great voyages of discovery. He made his crew eat it and there were no problems with scurvey as a result. Celery seed is used in all sorts of flavourings and it is one of the smallest seeds of any cultivated plant.
According to urban legend, more calories are expended in chewing and digesting celery than are actually provided by the strong-tasting veg. If true, that would make it the ideal slimmer´s food.
“I don´t care,” said Sharon. “There´s a limit to what a person should have to put up with in staying slim and celery is it for me.”
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©Phillip Bruce 2009.
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