Evening star., 1937-05-12

Another defect this shopper will
try to discover is pithiness. She can
press firmly on the stalks to see if
they seem springy. Or she can give
a branch a twist to see if 1t shreds
and reveals distinctly open texture
with air spaces.
SATISFIED as to the outward ap-
pearance Of the celery bunch, the
shopped might have a look inside,
pulling out the branches enough to
see ii there is seed steam already de-
veloped. A seed stem indicates poor
flavor, sometimes even bitterness and
flbrous character. OF course that
stem could be cooked, not entirely
wasted, but such celery is pretty poor
stuff.
Pulling aside the outer stalks
should also reveal any evidence of
blackheart disease or of insect in
jury. Blackheart appears first in the
young, tender leaves of the heart as
brownish discolored areas around the
leaf margins and veins. These areas
enlarge and finally become brownish
black.
"Cutworms do lot Of damage to
celery. If the bunch is U. S. fancy it
will be guiltless of worms. Certainly
the heart will never have been visited
by worm, and at worst not more
than two of the outer branches will
show evidence Of any past visitation.
Sometimes celery is trimmed down to
hearts and sold minus the coarser
stalks. These outer stalks may then
be tied into punches and sold sep
arately for soups and stews.
Occasionally those outer stalks are
sacrificed completely to develop an es-
pecially fine product. It's done this
way. Down in refrigeration plant
the crates of celery selected for this
treatment are put together and SUBJ
Jected to temperature that will en-
courage molds to develop The crates
hnally are mass of mold When the
proper stage is reached the celery is
washed and the outer moldy stalks and
leaves are trimmed away. Only the
hearts are left, with an extra nuttv
flavor added to their crispness. This
is not common commercial prac-
tice, however.
X X X
HE nutritionist is interested in
celery chiefly as a rich source
OF calcium. People who are con-
cerned with food only as source of
gustatory pleasure prize it for its tex
ture and flavor, especially raw.
fortunately it keeps 80 we'll that
much of it can be eaten. But there
are always the tops and usually the
coarser older stalks which are better
cooked.
celery tops can be chopped fine
and put into a meat or a salmon
loaf to give it a more piquant flavor.
Tops can always be cooked with the
stalks for soups. Whenever there
are more tops than can be used at
once they can be washed thoroughly.
then dried and put away in a paper
sack for future use in such dishes as
meat loaf
Some cooks like to lay a spray of
celery leaves on top of a roast while
1t is cooking
If the celery is to be cooked 1t
should be started in boiling salted
water. AS some of the vitamins and
minerals cook out into the water, this
water should not be discarded. So
It's good idea to use as small GUAM
tity Of water as is safe to prevent it
boiling dry. When the celery is tender
(that doesn't mean cooked to piecesD
it may be seasoned with butter or
meat drippings and served Or it
may be added to a white sauce.
Celery is advantageously combined
with an equal quantity of turnips or
carrots. It's good with tomatoes also
about cups of cut celery simmered
with quart Of tomatoes 20 minutes
or so.
Celery is excellent in a stuffing
for the less tender roasting pieces such
as shoulder-say 2 cups of cooked
celery pieces and leaves with cups
stale bread crumbs, some onion, butter,
salt and pepper.
These are but few of the ways of
conserving the coarse outer stalks of
this vegetable delicacy"