Celery odorous( Apium graveolens)

Celery - a biennial spicy-flavored vegetable plant. Even in the Middle Ages, celery was known as a vegetable plant, and today it is difficult to say whether it is more vegetable or spicery. His homeland is the coastal regions of southern Europe and Asia. Cultivation of celery in the fields and in the kitchen gardens spread in Europe in the 16th century, and in Russia in the 18th century. Celery was considered a sacred plant by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Like the Egyptians, they considered it a symbol of sadness and death.

Description

Root tuber round brown, reaches a diameter of 20 cm from the tuber grow branched spindle-shaped roots of the same color. The plant forms a rosette consisting of a different number of leaves depending on the variety. Blossoms from June to September. Seeds ripen only in the second year. Among the root crops of celery, they are particularly well proven: Apple - is an early-ripening variety with a powerful luxous rosette of leaves;

Gribovsky - mid-ripened variety with fragrant dark green leaves and purple cheeks; Yudinka - is a very fruitful variety with a good root without hard lateral roots. Of the leaf varieties of celery, Georgian varieties are particularly prominent, and imported varieties best prove themselves imported varieties: Utah, Pascal, Florida, the Golden Pen. They form a large rosette with a large hardwood mass.

Composition

Extremely rich in biologically active substances.100 g of pure, ready-to-use tuber contain 320 mg of potassium, 9 mg of magnesium, 68 mg of calcium, 0.15 mg of manganese, 0.53 mg of iron, 0.31 mg of zinc, 80 mg of phosphorus and sodium. The content of vitamins in celery also deserves attention. These are vitamins of group B( thiamin, riboflavin), vitamins K, E, provitamin A and ascorbic acid. Especially rich in vitamins are leaves. However, the content of vitamins celery is inferior to parsley. In addition to mineral substances, celery contains essential oil, glycoside apinin, choline, protein, carotene, valuable amino acids and sugars. A typical celery taste is due to the presence of an apiola.

Cultivation of

There are three varieties of celery - root, stalk and leaf. In Russia, the most common root and leaf celery. In root crops, in the first year, a large root crop of a rounded shape and a powerful rosette of leaves form. Leaf celery does not form such a large root crop. For a year the plant forms a branched floral stem up to 1 m high with small umbrellas of inflorescences. Celery refers to cold-resistant plants and in the adult state it tolerates frosts up to - 6-7 ° C.The best conditions for the growth and development of this culture are created at a moderate temperature and sufficient humidity. Celery is a light-loving plant, it is placed on open lighted areas. Most suitable are loose structural, humus-rich soils rich in humus. Therefore, when growing it on heavy soils, it is necessary to make humus, compost or peat and during the entire growing period to conduct moisturizing watering. Celery is grown by seedlings and, more rarely, by sowing seeds in the soil. To obtain large root crops, seedlings are planted in seedlings at the end of February and the first half of March in the greenhouses. Shoots appear slowly. Seeds germinate only on the 15-20th day. Before emergence, the temperature is maintained at 20-25 ° C, then about 15-16 ° C.In order to accelerate germination, seeds can not be ground by sowing, but it is essential to keep them moist. Germination of seeds in the light without fixing them with earth goes faster for 4-6 days. After sowing, before emergence, the boxes are covered with a transparent film to create a greenhouse effect. When sowing seeds in the open ground, they are germinated.14 days before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water for 3 days, often changing water. Then the seeds are scattered thinly between two layers of tissue, placed on wet sawdust and kept in a warm room until the appearance of the first shoots. Before sowing, the seeds are mixed with dry sand. Soil for seedlings should be prepared from peat and humus with the addition of a small amount of sand. In sowing boxes seeds are sown in rows at a distance of 5 cm, in greenhouses - by 8-10 cm. When two real leaves are formed, the seedlings are dived into greenhouses and film greenhouses at a distance of 5 × 3 cm. The seedlings are seeded directly into the greenhouse soil orin peat pots( 5 × 5, 3 × 3 cm).10 days before the landing in the soil, the seedlings are fed with a full mineral fertilizer in liquid form. Top dressing is best in the morning, after which the plants are watered with clean water. On the site, seedlings are planted in mid-May, when 4-5 leaves are formed on the plants. Under the celery are allocated plots with fertile non-acidic soil. Place it after potatoes, cabbage, onions and beets. The soil is prepared in the same way as for other root vegetables. If the soil is not sufficiently fertile, compost, humus is added to the wells when planting the seedlings( 200-300 g).Seedlings seedlings are planted in an ordinary way with row spacing 40-45 cm with a distance between plants for root celery 30, for leaf celery - 20 cm. Plants are immersed in the soil in such a way that the central bud is not covered. When planting seedlings, watering is mandatory. Care consists of loosening the soil, weeding and watering. Celery is very responsive to loosening, so during the season the soil between the rows is loosened 4-6 times. On low-fertile soils it is good to carry out feeding of slurry( 1: 10).To obtain greenery of celery from the open ground, multiple cutting of leaves is used. The leaves are cut off when their rosette reaches a height of 25-30 cm, during the season it develops to this state up to 2-3 times. When growing celery celery in the second half of summer, they plant the petioles of the leaves on the ground, which makes them light green in color, the content of essential oils decreases, the bitterness disappears and the taste of the petioles increases. When hilling, make sure that the heart is not covered with earth and the upper part of the leaves remains on the surface.

Medicinal properties

Has a beneficial effect on the metabolism in the body, on the nervous system, stimulates the appetite. The rather high content of vitamin E in celery has a general strengthening effect on the body. Celery is especially useful to include in the diet people suffering from osteochondrosis, gout, kidney stone disease. In folk medicine, seeds and root crops of celery are used as a diuretic and tonic.

Application of

Celery has a strong aroma, sweet and bitter, spicy taste. Food is consumed by leaves, petioles and root crops - for the preparation of salads, soups, side dishes, in fresh, dried, salted and canned.

RECIPES

Celery roasted

200 g of celery root, 2 tsp.lemon juice( or lemon acid), 2 tbsp.l.of oil

Celery should be cleaned, cut into slices 1-1.5 cm thick, salt and fry in vegetable oil or other fat. You can cook and so. Cut sliced ​​slices with lemon juice or citric acid and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Then add salt, roll in flour and fry until golden brown. Serve with a salad of fresh or lightly salted cucumbers and tomatoes.

Fish pate with celery

1 can of canned fish in its own juice, 1 root of celery and carrots, 1 onion, 100 g of mayonnaise

Transfer canned fish from a jar to a plate. Add finely chopped celery, carrots and onions. Mix everything with mayonnaise, add black pepper, salt to taste.

Drink celery with cheese

For 1 serving - 100 g celery, 60-70 g grated cheese, 1/2 cup cold pasteurized milk

Celery grate and extract the juice from the resulting mass. In the mixer, pour out 50 g of grated cheese, pour the juice from the celery, cold milk and beat for 1 minute. Before serving, drink a drink in a glass or a glass, sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top. Serve the drink well chilled.

Celery salad with carrots

3 carrots, 2 celery, 3-4 tbsp.l.mayonnaise or vegetable oil, parsley greens

Raw celery and carrot roots, peel, chop, stir and pour mayonnaise. Prepare the salad on a dish and sprinkle with parsley. Instead of mayonnaise, you can use vegetable oil. Add salt, vinegar, sugar.

Celery salad with apples

300 g celery, 2 apples, 150 g mayonnaise, parsley greens

Cut apples and boiled celery into thin slices, add salt, vinegar and sugar, mix with mayonnaise, sprinkle with herbs.

As a spice, celery seeds are also used. Without it, it is impossible to imagine a single kitchen. Sliced ​​in thin slices, it is used in the preparation of vegetable soups and salads, sauces and various types of meat, gives a pleasant taste of side dishes, mayonnaise, egg dishes and meat cooked in a grill. However, using it, observe the measure. Celery refers to the most used vegetables and spices. Seeds and root crops are also used for cooking celery salt, which is a good seasoning for vegetable, fish and meat dishes. For this purpose, the ground fruits( seeds) or dried and chopped roots are mixed with ordinary table salt.