Substitute For Celery? - Q&A

Quick Post:

This is part of the Q&A library at Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen. Readers can submit questions and they will be posted so that answers will be left in the comments section.

I just noticed this comment come in, and while published, maybe it would be good to have it as a post and anyone who can comment do so.

Barbara writes:
ok I can't figure out where else I should post this question for a quick answer so I'm going to do it here.

So many receipes call for celery. Most Americans know the price for celery due to the bad weather here as gone sky hi! Like $2.49 for a bunch! It normally run $.79 at the most.

Anyway- what would be a good substitute for celery until the price comes back down to earth???

Thanks so much

Barbara
So now - what is a good cheap substitute for celery? Here in Israel fruit and vegetables are much cheaper than in the USA. So leave a comment if you have any ideas for Barbara.

Teddy
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Comments

Paula and Elwood's Poetic Palace said…
Barbara,
You have several options, depending on the dish.

For soups you could use a celery seed if it is flavor you need. If you must replace stalk, Asparagus, Cardoon, Chinese Celery or Rhoubarb work well.

Regular stalk celery tends to be watery, one of the above replacements will add a nice body to a stew or soup and flavor is much nicer.

Good Luck.
3/23/2007 5:28 PM
B.E. Sanderson said…
For most soups where I'd typically use celery, I have just left it out and haven't seen any real difference. If you're missing the taste, though, try adding some celery seed instead. It should be available in most stores in the seasoning aisle.

Hope that helps.
3/23/2007 11:12 PM
Anonymous said…
I don't know if this would work for EVERYTHING, but I recently made a casserole and didn't have any celery. I chopped up an equal amount of snow peas and LOVED it. Plan to use them as a replacement for fun in future cooking.
3/24/2007 6:09 AM
Anonymous said…
if it's crunch you want, maybe try water chestnuts or bamboo shoots. both come in cans, but i haven't priced them lately.
3/25/2007 1:34 AM
Anonymous said…
whoohooo!
Thanks so much for the suggestions. What I normally use celery for is with onions and carrots so the celery seed should work.

I haven't been by in a while as my mother passed away 3/25/07.

Teddy-just love your site. While we're Catholic and not Jewish, Mamma was Polish so I've enjoyed many of your taditional foods. We would eat Matzah instead of crackers. Brings back great memories.

Thanks again

Barbara
4/06/2007 12:48 AM
Neil said…
fennel bulb
4/30/2008 6:42 AM
Anonymous said…
I know most question are about taste / combinations but what about nutritional equivalents for celery? The smell of it makes me sick nut I'm on a diet and the recipe requires so... : ( Any help?
6/12/2008 10:25 PM
Anonymous said…
I have a comment the same as "Anonymuos" above. I am on a diet too and the diet consists of celery as part of some meal plans. YUCK!! Just the smell of celery is enough to make me sick. What is a good nutritional substitute without ruining progress? Or is it best to do diet without it?
10/22/2008 11:48 PM
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