Are there any drawbacks to cooking with limp celery?

Crisp celery is important for salads and other recipes calling for raw celery, but what about when the celery is to be cooked, such as in a soup or stew? Celery loses its crispness when cooked so it doesn't seem to matter, but would I be missing something if I cook with limp celery?

I'm aware of how to revive limp celery to crispness from this question (How to keep celery crisp?) but it takes a few hours, and that question only addresses how to crispify it for raw uses, not whether it's necessary for cooking.

texture celery

Best Answer

There's limp and then there's limp. As the celery ages, it will get more and more limp (and more bitter), and eventually neither delicious nor safe. If you're sweating the celery and it's a little less than crudité crisp it should be fine. Just sample it first to make sure it's not too bitter.

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Quick Answer about "Are there any drawbacks to cooking with limp celery?"

Limp celery will have lost its crispy crunch. For that reason, avoid using the softer ribs in things like crudite where you want the vegetable to sturdily hold dipping sauce and to feel that crunch with each bite. Even if slightly limp, celery is great for soups, stews, curries and bone broths.

What to do with celery that is limp?

All you have to do to revive celery is "soak a limp vegetable in water for a few hours and its cells will absorb water and reinflate. Crispness can also be enhanced by making sure that the vegetable is icy cold."

Why does celery go limp in the fridge?

Celery often goes bad fast because it releases ethylene, a ripening hormone. When wrapped in foil, foil allow the ethylene to escape. If celery is stored in a loose plastic bag, ethylene is trapped, which will cause the celery to get limp.

Easy Food Hack: Can Limp Celery be Revived

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