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Celery is an umbelliferous, aromatic, herbaceous plant grown for its leaves, seeds, oleoresin and essential oil. Celery plant is usually 30-60 cm high, erect with conspicuously jointed stems, bearing well-developed leaves on long expanded petioles. The rigid fruit is small, ovoid, 1 to 1.5mm long, 1 to 2mm in diameter, contains a small brown seed.
The celery seeds was initially used as a medicine only. Soon it started appearing in pickling recipes and before long people started using it more widely in cooking. Today, celery seeds are extensively used in foods and beverages.
The dried ripped fruits (celery fruit) are used as spice. Leaves and stalks are used as salads and in soups. It is also widely used in meat seasonings, in flavouring beverages, confectionaries, ice creams and baked goods. It is figured as a natural medicine in different cultures. In modern medicine, it is used as a stimulant and for treating Asthma and liver diseases. |
