All parts of celery - root, stalks and leaves, are appreciated in cooking for their delicate specific aroma and spicy refreshing taste. But besides this, the plant has widespread use as a therapeutic agent. The ancient healers and scientists of Hippocrates, Avicenna attributed celery (simirniyun) not only to vegetables, but also to medicines. Our material will introduce the useful properties of celery and methods of harvesting valuable raw materials for the winter.

Celery Properties

There are several varieties and varieties of celery: root, petiole and leaf. Private farms and greenhouse enterprises widely use the cultivation of petiole varieties to supply the population with greenery throughout the year. Due to this, on the shelves of stores there are always types of root and petiole vegetables.

Important! Frozen vegetable loses some of the healing properties that are beneficial to health, but decorate culinary dishes with its aroma and taste.

The only thing that different parts of the plant differ in is a set of useful elements. So, for example, there are fundamentally more natural sugars and some trace elements, and the green parts are saturated with vitamins, macro- and trace elements, while having a lower calorie content. In terms of vitamin C content, celery root is comparable to lemon and mandarin and is superior to other root vegetables (parsley, parsnip).

Benefit

The beneficial properties of celery are explained by a set of valuable substances and compounds in the composition of the vegetable. It can be used both for medicinal purposes and in dietary nutrition.

• Here is a short list of the best beneficial properties of this plant:
• taste characteristics are widely used in cooking in the manufacture of such dishes - vitamin salads, main dishes, juice, smoothies, cocktails;
• low calorie content allows you to fight excess weight by speeding up metabolism, normalizing metabolism, lowering sugar and cholesterol.
• the presence in the petiole celery of mainly water and fiber makes it a negative calorie product;
• bactericidal properties contribute to the disinfection of the mouth, the walls of the gastrointestinal tract and the genitourinary system, reduce inflammation in colds;
• a complex of substances has a healing and calming effect on the nervous system, eliminates neurosis and insomnia;
• normalizes the hormonal balance of men and women - it is used to improve male potency, and helps women with painful menstruation and menopause;
• promotes gentle cleansing of the stomach and is used for constipation, regulates the secretion of gastric juice and intestinal motility;
• juice is used effectively for skin diseases and irritations; it helps to heal abrasions, wounds and cuts;
• normalizes the water-salt balance and promotes the withdrawal of salts, which facilitates the treatment of gout and rheumatism, improves the state of the circulatory system, reduces sugar levels and swelling;
• possessing a tonic and antioxidant property, celery is able to enhance the activity of organs and tissues and the vitality of the body as a whole, cause a surge of energy and fight aging.

Did you know? The ability to eliminate toxins and suppress the carcinogens of cigarette smoke makes celery an indispensable product for smokers.

Harm and contraindications

• Using celery root and greens, you should pay attention to the restrictions and carefully consume the vegetable for some health problems:
• increased (above Ph = 0.86) acidity of the stomach;
• impaired blood flow in the veins (varicose veins, thrombophlebitis);
• pregnancy;
• high blood pressure (hypertension);
• lack of remission of chronic diseases;
• kidney stones and bladder;
• exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases;
• diseases of the gallbladder, biliary tract and pancreas;
• allergies and hypersensitivity.

A universal contraindication for the use of celery is an individual food intolerance to the product due to the presence of a thermostable allergen, which during heat treatment does not lose its sensitizing properties.

How to save celery for the winter at home?

Having grown a good crop of celery, you must correctly and without loss of useful properties to preserve the root and greens of the vegetable. To do this, use drying, freezing and preservation.

Drying

Drying is the most convenient and effective method of preserving celery for the winter without loss of essential oils and beneficial ingredients. For this, the product is washed, dried on a kitchen towel and chopped. In the future, you can dry it in the shade in the air, in an open oven (+ 40 ° С ... + 50 ° С) or use a vegetable dryer.

Dried celery is poured into a hermetically sealed container, tissue bag or paper bag, protecting from dampness.

Video: Instructions for drying celery and parsley roots for the winter

Freezing

Root, leaves and petioles can be frozen: at the same time, they retain all the vitamins and minerals, but lose some of their aroma.

Before laying in the freezer, the root and greens must be washed well and dried on a kitchen towel so that the product does not lose its appearance when defrosting. The root should be cleaned.

Important! Frozen foods should be added to the prepared dishes without defrosting, in order to avoid loss of taste, aroma and color.

You can freeze the twigs (stems with leaves) as a whole by wrapping it in film, foil or laying it in lockable containers. Frozen branches become brittle, and this should be considered when freely laying in containers.

Greens can be cut and frozen in cling film, in bags with zip fasteners or containers, gently crushing and removing excess air. With this method, space is saved in the freezer, and no excess ice is formed inside the bags.

Cut greens can be frozen in ice. To do this, it is laid out in small molds, rammed and poured with broth or water. After freezing one batch, the product must be removed, put into a bag, and the molds reused. Ready cubes are used directly for flavoring dishes and soups. You can make a mix of summer greens.

In addition, you can freeze greens in the form of pesto. To do this, it is crushed with a blender, laid out in small molds and poured with olive or butter.

The root can be cut or chopped on a grater and put into bags or containers with a lid.

It is advisable to choose small norms for the layout for freezing, so that it is easier to separate portions of the vegetable and use in the future. Frozen celery cannot be re-frozen.

How and where to store it correctly?

Fresh celery roots can be stored in a dry storage with constant microclimatic indicators (+ 2 ° C, 98%). For storage, boxes made of wood and plastic are suitable. The roots are laid out so that they do not touch each other, and sprinkled with sand, sawdust or shifted with dry moss. Can be stored in plastic bags.

Store stems and leaves in a refrigerator, preferably in a bag, cleanly washed and wrapped in a damp cloth. The dried product should be stored in a dry room and protected from moisture and moisture.

Did you know? You can keep the greens fresh longer if you put the halved onion head in a bag and change it for fresh every week.

Storage time

Dried and frozen celery can be stored for up to a year, while the loss of vitamins is only 25% by the end of the term, but the taste, aroma and appearance are preserved.

At room temperature, fresh root can be stored for up to 4 days. For not long-term storage of roots (up to 4 weeks), you can use a shelf or a container for vegetables in the refrigerator.

In a cool store, the root can be stored all winter, under constant microclimate conditions (0 ° С ... + 2 ° С). However, it is necessary to prepare the roots for storage - carefully select the fruits without damage, spoilage, dry and cut the greens.

Petioles and celery leaves are stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 daysif wrapped in a bag or put in water.

Celery is not difficult to grow and easy to maintain. It is easy to use in a variety of and affordable recipes. And the spicy taste of this vegetable will decorate any dish with the aroma, complementing it with useful and healing elements.