Why does raw celery from a restaurant taste different than raw celery at home?
Say you go to a restaurant and order buffalo wings. The wings come with celery and bleu cheese. The celery tastes amazing.
At home, you cut celery and store it in water in the refrigerator, and eat it. It does not taste amazing.
What are the possible reasons why there is a difference in taste between the two?
Best Answer
There could be two factors involved. First, the freshness of the celery. Restaurants, especially those that serve large amounts, are going through a lot of product. This means that you are more likely to get really fresh celery.
Next, storing in water is very likely an issue. I would suggest buying celery within a day or so of when you plan to use it. Wash and dry it thoroughly. Then trim and cut to your desired size. Then immediately place the celery in a plastic container or zipper bag and place in the refigerator until serving.
Each time you take it out for serving, remove the amount you plan to use and return the rest to the refrigerator. The 'leftover' celery should remain fresh and crisp for several days.
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Quick Answer about "Why does raw celery from a restaurant taste different than raw celery at home?"
First, the freshness of the celery. Restaurants, especially those that serve large amounts, are going through a lot of product. This means that you are more likely to get really fresh celery. Next, storing in water is very likely an issue.Does celery taste the same for everyone?
The outer, darker green stalks in a bunch of celery are going to be much more bitter than the more tender, lighter green stalks on the inside. So if you have the option, you may want to go for these inner celery bits first. Otherwise, cooking celery makes it sweeter and essentially neutralizes the bitter taste.Why does celery taste different?
Why Does Celery Taste Bitter? The perceived bitterness of celery depends on its growing conditions. If the soil isn't fertile, moist, or cool enough, stalks turn stringy and begin to foster a particularly bitter taste. Another reason could be insufficient blanching of celery to protect it from the sun.How do you make raw celery taste less bitter?
Keep celery plants well-watered during the growing season. Without adequate water, stalks become stringy. Provide at least one mid-season application of compost, as celery is a heavy feeder. With proper growing conditions, it's easy to avoid that bitter-tasting, pungent celery.Why does my homegrown celery taste salty?
To sum up, celery has a salty taste because of the sodium it contains. One stalk offers about 35.2 milligrams. What's more, store-bought celery is often stripped of the outer stalks that make the bunches on offer seem less salty than organically grown celery.How to Tell When Celery Goes Bad : Ripe \u0026 Fresh Fruits \u0026 Veggies
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Answer 2
This is two years past, and I'm sure the original poster and replyers have long forgotten about this thread. But I wanted to leave my comment in case any new readers came across this...
Different brands of celery have different flavors. (Also, there are a few different types of celery lmao but let me not confuse you) Mostly, it's in the brands. I don't believe each brand grows their "own strain", not at all! I just think you know what to expect from each brand. Think of strawberries for example, they're the easiest ones to imagine. I'm sure at most grocery stores, you'll see a sale like $2.99 per unit for example... But when you look down at the strawberry section, you'll probably see more than one strawberry company there. You'll see 50 that say "Cascadia" or another 30 that say "Something Farms" etc etc and maybe even a bunch more called "Organic Something"... And if you look closer you'll see that one of the brands has massive strawberries... Or you'll remember that one of the brands always has really particularly sweet strawberries.... That's what I mean.
With celery... It's easy to forget, and it's almost imperceptible. I ONLY noticed it from the celery juicing craze from 2018-2019. My local grocery store was having a sale (the craze was dying down end of 2019). I was buying 5 bunches at a time and the brand had a purple logo. Each bunch was giving me about 12-14oz. It was also really salty, earthy and delicious.
One day, I see there's a couple different brands there. All still the same sale price. The other brand is a well known company with a dark green logo, and I get the idea to just compare them for fun. Big mistake lol. Each bunch is giving me about 18-20oz. Which you would think is great!!! The stalks are lighter green, huge and fat, But UGH the flavor is watered down.... And so I can't tell... Are these fresher, full of more water.... Or are they seriously LACKING in any nutrients??? Are they better or worse?? And all I could think was DANGIT, I miss the full flavoured salty celery juice of that other brand. I got used to my weird picklejuiceflavoredthingamajig hahaha
I started thinking.... This one is probably the one you would get at a diner/restaurant with no flavor that goes super great dipped with ranch or blue cheese.
And having worked in restaurants for over 10 years, one thing I know is that state laws kinda control where we get our produce from. Our selections are limited. So if we get celery from somewhere.... It'll probably be the same celery supplier/brand for years to come. Also there's a HIGH chance that the neighboring restaurants (ALL across the state, actually) will be using the same supplier... Not guaranteed. But they (the supplier) will put their bids in, and there's a good chance they'll win all of our restaurants' businesses.
Answer 3
Slimy water it surely a sign of storing for to long.
Personally in my cheffing days we always stored our prepared celery in water, it helps stop the veins from going brown.
The other step we/I have always done is peel the outside skin. It tends to be woody and stringy whereas the rest is quite soft. Also when peeling you will find any woody veins will also be pulled away.
By peeling I mean cutting and pulling, this is really hard to explain but I'll try...
Cut with a knife while holding the celery towards your thumb, but not quite all the way through. Then pull. Most of the skin will pull away in a sort of ribbon. Continue around till it's all gone.
I imagine the process of peeling and storing in water will remove some of the bitterness Of The celery, leaving a sweeter product behind.
Also.. restaurants may well get through a lot more celery than the average household. However, we also buy in far more bulk (30 heads for a week kind of bulk). It doesn't by any means, mean it's fresher than you'd get from your local shop/supermarket.
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