Celery
Apium graveolens
Clockwise top left: 19th century trade card featuring
lady in celery dress; celery
stalk cross section; celery seed; California farmer
banking up celery stalks, circa 1920's.
Ancient Greeks once believed
that the person who does not like celery
also does not enjoy living.
Celery was once associated with
the gloom of the tomb—the Romans liked to use it
to decorate coffins at funerals. But they also felt
that wearing crowns of celery helped to ward off
headaches after hard nights of partying. Probably
originally from the Mediterranean, celery wandered
throughout Europe, into Asia, Africa and South America.
Celery was more of a flavoring device than a vegetable
in its early days but eventually Italian farmers
turned it into the plant we know today. California
produces about 1.7 billion pounds of celery each
year.
There’s a celery joke going around
that it takes more calories to eat a stalk of celery
than are contained in the stalk itself. Maybe it’s
true—two stalks have a whopping 25 calories. Celery
is also touted as the plant to eat to lower your blood
pressure, loaded as it is with a compound called phthalide.
Celery Fun Facts
Celery contains androsterone, a hormone
released through sweat glands said to attract women.
There is a common belief that celery is so difficult
for humans to digest, that it has 'negative calories'
because human digestion burns more calories than can
be extracted. Snopes believes this to be true, however
at only 6kcal per rib, the effect is negligible. Celery
is still valuable in diets, where it provides low-calorie
fiber bulk.
The Class B Michigan-Ontario League, a minor league
baseball league from the early 20th century, included
a team called the Kalamazoo Celery Pickers.
Dr. Brown's makes a celery-flavoured soft drink called
Cel-Ray, which is sold mostly in the New York City
region.
Some pet rabbits eat a lot of celery. One may wonder
if this means rabbits lose a lot of weight. However,
a rabbit's natural flora of bacteria in their appendix
includes micro-organisms which break down the cellulose
in the celery into a form which the rabbit can absorb.
Exercise-induced anaphylaxis can be exacerbated by
eating celery.
In the British science fiction series Doctor Who,
the Fifth Doctor's costume included a piece of celery
on the lapel. The reason for this was that he was
allergic to certain gases in praxis range of the spectrum
and in the presence of these gases, the celery turned
purple. In this case, he ate the celery (for if nothing
else he was sure it was good for his teeth).
The closely related Apium bermejoi from the island
of Minorca is one of the rarest plants in Europe with
only 60 individuals left.
The edible celery stalk is not a plant stem as often
claimed. It is a petiole, which is part of a leaf.
Foley artists break stalks of celery into a microphone
to simulate the sound of breaking bones.
Celery was banned from the Gillingham's Priestfield
Stadium in 1996 after the goalkeeper complained of
being struck by celery thrown by spectators.
Some people report that eating raw celery makes their
tongues and mouths numb.
Continue
learning about celery here.
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