How do you keep your celery from wilting

[jennyema]

I toss it in its package into my vegetable drawer. Mine will last for at least a month.

 

[jennyema]

“
“Wait to wash. Washing produce before
storing may promote bacterial growth and
speed up spoilage, so it is often recommended
to wait and wash fruits and vegetables just
before use.”

https://www.nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource/Guide%20to%20Washing%20Fresh%20Produce508.pdf

 

[dragnlaw]

georgevan, I don't understand why yours would wilt so quickly. What do you do with yours? Wash? Cut? Fridge? Counter? Wrap in ??? Stand in water?

 

[rodentraiser]

Now I know lettuce is supposed to wilt much faster if cut with a knife. Something about the reaction between the lettuce and the metal. That's why so many chefs say to tear lettuce by hand. I'm wondering if celery reacts the same way when it's cut.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

it seems 3 or 4 days they start to wilt

What, are you storing it on the counter? Do you toss the bare-naked stalk on a shelf in the fridge? Are you just grabbing a stalk without checking it? If you don't need too much, does your local store sell it by the rib? It might be cheaper for you to buy a rib or two when you need it for a recipe. I've kept celery in the store wrapper, which I then place into a grocery store plastic bag, fresh enough in our daughter's fridge from when I first bought it around Thanksgiving and used it again when we would visit at Christmas. And as mentioned, most limp celery can be re-crisped in cold water in just a few hours.

I have this Tupperware celery keeper. I think I got it as a wedding gift in 1984. I take the celery out of the bag, trim it to fit if necessary, and put the celery in it. The mesh keeps it off the bottom, so it doesn't sit in condensed water and rot. It lasts at least a month. Vintage ones are available on eBay.

View attachment 69839

I've got one of those! Love it! I think my record for usable celery was close to two months.

When I was a little kid, sometimes Dad and I would go grocery shopping for just a couple of things. Mostly on his day off (Wednesday) AND if Mom was busy in the kitchen AND she discovered she was missing an ingredient. He taught me to look for celery that had paler outer ribs. He said that the paler celery was sweeter and more tender, and he was right. Other hints from Dad: press on the ribs just above the root base. If they're fresh, they won't give. If they're dry and hollow, they'll be soft. Check the cut tops, too. You can tell by browning how fresh (or not) the stalk is.

And the light green/dark green thing? You get pale celery by wrapping it. This "blanching" is time-consuming. Our backdoor neighbor at our first home grew celery one summer. He used old paper grocery bags for the wrap. He had really nice celery, but I'm surprised that it didn't end up turning blue...the air around the plants sure was for a short time!