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| I can't seem to find any recipes for canning celery on its own. I stuck some 6-packs of celery in the garden this spring on a whim and I've got some really nice heads. We've been eating it all along, but I'd like to preserve some for cream of celery soup when the weather gets cold.
It's a little too tough for eating raw, so I figured that canning it would soften it up until it was perfect. But I can't find a single recipe for canning celery. Has anyone seen this? Thanks,
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Celery doesn't seem to can well on its own. It is mostly water and the processing just seems to turn it to celery mush. ;) It dehydrates well and that is what we do for winter potato soup. Just dry it well over a low temp setting (too high turns it brown) and store it in a tightly sealed jar. Or it can be added to other recipes for canning such as relish, stewed tomatoes, or mixed vegetables. Or you can freeze it suspended in a base of liquid. Slice it and freeze the slices in water or soup base. It will still be mushy but will work for soups. Idea!!! ;) Why not try making your cream of celery soup up now and freeze containers of it? Dave |
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- Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 07 at 11:15
| You can blanch and freeze. Celery softens when frozen, so you might find that takes care of your problem. Carol |
Here is a link that might be useful: Freezing Celery
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| Dave, Carol - thanks, for the info, I will probably just make up a big batch of soup now and freeze. The celery was such fun to grow. The seedlings look just like parsley. Then all of a sudden you realize that these spindly little heads are developing. Now they are normal size heads, although the stalks are about half the diameter of supermarket celery. Susan |
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| Another idea: Make a large batch of mirepoix (finely chopped, sauteed mix of carrots, onions and celery). Mirepoix is the base for many delicious soups, sauces and braises. Pack the mirepoix in useful size packages (maybe 8oz.) and freeze it. This would greatly streamline preparation of the dishes in which it is used. Jim |
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- Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 07 at 15:16
| Wow! Now that's a great idea. Mirepoix would freeze beautifully and takes up minimal space. Carol |
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| Canning celery in a sweet mixed pickle is OK, if its with vinegar and salt. By itself, no. But sliced and dried, it can work ok too. |
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| i know this is literally years to late- but hey... maybe someone will find it helpful... http://chickensintheroad.com/farm-bell-recipes/dedes-cream-of-celery-soup/ |
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- Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Tue, Oct 1, 13 at 1:53
| Just as a heads-up there's nothing in the blog "About" that indicates the poster of the celery soup recipe has any credentials relating to canning. That's not an issue with marmalade but definitely is for celery soup. If someone wants to try it regardless, that's up to them. For myself the 3/4 cup of clearjel is also a huge ugh, even if I trusted the recipe. Viscous to the max. Clearjel thickens and "grows" like you wouldn't believe. Carol |
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| I never learned how to grow my own celery. But from time to time when I see them on sale , I buy a few heads and freeze them. I blanch for about 5 minutes or so, to kill the enzymes. This way they won't get soft. Tonight I took out some and made New England Style clam chowder (my variation) with it. .. Delish ! |
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| Good points on the Clear Jel Carol! Not to mention all the butter in the recipe and only 45 min. processing time??? Even the 1/2 and 1/2 soup instructions - which this definitely isn't - call for 60-75 min. And she apparently uses the same processing time for pints and quarts? That's just plain ____________ (insert word of choice). Dave |
Here is a link that might be useful: Cream of Celery Soup linked above
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- Posted by sleevendog 5-6 (My Page) on Thu, Oct 3, 13 at 7:08
| No, that does not look like a good canning option. I grow two varieties. Par-cel is a variety that grows much like parsley, grown for the leaves and tender stems. The stalk variety does not form the large watery grocery type in my northern climate, but the leaves and the chopstick sized 8-10 inch stalks are packed with a concentrated celery flavor. I do mound the row with soil as it grows placing a couple boards on either side. Harvest a bit all season for salads. My method is to saute onion, shallots, garlic gently a few minutes. Add chopped celery, stalks and leaves, along with a few other greens, kales and chards, (just a few misc leaves sliced in thin strips). Pulse in cuisinart with chives, lemon juice and tbsp olive oil to make a celery 'salsa'. Freezes great in small portions to add to soups and chowders all winter. Or a risotto. Nice late addition to frozen/thawed/heated roasted tomatoes over pasta. Or with a pint of stock and your other ingredients to make a favorite celery soup recipe. |
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| cut up celery into strips then slices. heat for 3 minutes to slightly shrink the celery and soften it slightly. pack into 8 ounce jelly jars with 1/4 tsp canning salt and the hot water from heating the celery with 1/2 to 3/4 inch headspace. wipe rims, adjust lids and rings, pressure can for 30 minutes at 10 pounds (adjusting for altitude). These are usable in cooked foods and will not be too mushy. I used 1 jar of my 5 I canned 2 months ago in my corn chowder and it was great! I have 14 more jars processing right now. |
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| Curious where you got that processing time? Seems awfully long for plain celery but then I have never seen any tested or approved times posted in any of the reliable sources. Is it just a guess? Dave |
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| Actually, I couldn't find the original source I used a couple months ago but I DO know I canned them along with my carrots or potatoes and had the celery processing extra 5 minutes which didn't mean much. Anybody that says celery turns to mush is a liar. It's still relatively solid (but soft) when you take them out of the jar. you are already going to cook with them so why not pre-cook them in the jars. Canning them stops them from rotting away. The only thing canned celery is no good for is recipes that call for raw crunchy celery such as celery sticks stuffed with peanut butter or other types of dishes such as salads. for that reason alone they claim that canning celery is not worth the time to calculate proper canning times. that's the same reason they tell you that you can't preserve radishes. |
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| Anybody that says celery turns to mush is a liar. I think that all depends on one's definition of "mush". :) Even fresh celery when boiled for 10 mins. in dishes like potato soup is soft. Seems like pressure canning for 30 mins would make it softer than that. But the flavor would still be good and if you are happy with the results that's all that matters. Dave |
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| by the way, it's 35 minutes not 30. i checked my history and found the site that had the information. http://www.sermondepository.com/goodcanning.com/celery.htm still looking for the one that called for raw packing celery like i did the first time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGhBnBUQTjA for a visual movie type guide. |
This post was edited by dellr on Mon, Nov 24, 14 at 11:00
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