The shelf life of fresh vegetables depends mostly on the way of their storage. In this article we will tell you something more about celery and its shelf life. Celery is one of the most popular vegetables because of its low cost and high vitamin content. Most people use celery as a healthy snack or as an addition to many dishes. But, have you ever wondered how long celery can last and how it should be stored?
In this article you will get the answers and we will also show you how to tell if celery has gone bad. If you also love celery and if you use this vegetable in your diet, read along this article and find the answers that will be useful for you.
More about Celery
Celery is a marshland plant that has been cultivated as a vegetable for thousands of years. It is eaten all around the world. In culinary purposes people usually use celery stalks and leaves, but celery seed is sometimes also used as a spice.
Celery has many health benefits for people and its extracts are usually used in medicine. Celery is high in vitamins and minerals, but low in calories, so it can help in weight loss. Below you will see more about the shelf life of celery and how you should store it properly.
What Is the Shelf Life of Celery?
Like almost all other fresh vegetables, celery usually doesn’t have a use by date, a sell by date or a best before date. It means that you have to go with a purchase date. But there is the exception with the tiny packages of celery that are usually prepackaged for lunch boxes.
Celery that is stored in the fridge can last for a week or two. If celery is frozen it can last for up to 6 or 8 months.
How You Should Store Celery?
Proper storage is the most important for the shelf life of celery. If celery is not stored properly it will last for a shorter period of time. Celery should be stored whole wrapped in a paper towel and then in aluminum foil. Then it should be placed in the vegetable bin in the fridge.
Also, you can store celery in a plastic bag that is sealed tightly or in an airtight container. This will help you keep away your celery from moisture and different contaminants. Of course, you have to place the bag or the container in a vegetable drawer in the fridge.
If your celery has become limp and if you want to return the crispiness to it, you can simply wash the celery and cut it into strips. Then place the strips into a glass of water. Within a few hours the stalks will be transformed into crisp celery. You can store the glass in the fridge for several days more if you want to enjoy crisp celery. But, if you want to store celery for a longer period of time, you should freeze it. This way you will further extend the shelf life of celery. Before freezing it is important to blanch the celery and to place it into freezer safe containers.
Have in mind that defrosted celery will be much softer than the fresh one, so it is best to use it for cooking.
How To Tell if Celery is Spoiled?
It won’t be hard to tell if celery has gone bad because your senses will help you in it. Remember that celery should have firm and light green stalks when it is fresh. If the stalks are becoming soft and bendable and if they start to spread out from the bunch, it is a sign that your celery is rotten.
Also, if the celery is old, it will become more whitish and hollow in the middle. It is also possible that celery which has gone bad begins to smell sour. You can also notice some brown spots on the celery. All these changes are the signs that your celery has gone bad. In this case you should throw it away immediately. You should always have in mind that spoiled foods can cause many health risks so you should avoid them.
Summary
As you have seen in this article, the shelf life of celery depends mostly on storage conditions. Celery should be kept in the fridge, but if you want to store it in a long run then you should keep it in the freezer. Frozen celery will have the longest shelf life but it has to be blanched first.
If you don’t provide proper storage conditions your celery will go bad quickly and you will be able to notice the signs of spoilage. Celery will become soft and whitish and it will also smell bad.
