Watched Cooking Live yesterday and one of the ingredients was celery root. Never occurred to me it was edible. Looked something like a large turnip. Wondering what it tastes like.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 29, 2002

Answers

Are you talking about celeriac.I think you are.I like it but it takes 110 days to grow and it is hard enough to keep regular things weeded.Their is also Hamburg Parsley that has a celery tasting root but more like a carrot. Both are good sauteed or in soup or stews. Both have a mild ,pleasant taste and are not strong I think like turnips. Kind of like kohlrabi. Terry

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), January 29, 2002.

I know my hearing is going (pardon me, what did you say?), but I am pretty sure Sarah just said celery root.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 29, 2002.

Hi Ken, I asked hubby who is a chef, and he said the same thing as Terry, it's celeriac. He said it's also called celery root by some chefs, as Sarah was saying. You can use it in anything you use celery for, but it is even better in soups because it "holds up" better than celery while cooking. It also has better storing capabilities than celery. I've never tried growing it, so don't know much about that aspect of it. Dave always likes me to grow something different in the garden, so this year it's artichokes, maybe one day celeriac! But if it's hard to grow, I'm handing him the shovel! :)

-- Annie (mistletoe6@earthlink.net), January 29, 2002.

It is hard to grow if you are the wrong climate (it likes cool weather) It is great in soups or raw, grated mixed with carrots. You can also fry it in a tempura batter (boil it for a few minutes before coating with batter and frying)

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmail.com), January 29, 2002.

I grew up eating celeriac [celery root]. We would scrub it and halve it if it was very big. Then boil until soft. Peel, cube and mix with oil, vinegar, scallions, parsely, salt and pepper. And chill. Celeriac salad..like potato salad.

It was/is very common in Europe. We used to find it in ethnic markets. Now, it can sometimes be found in regular grocery stores.

I love the stuff. And I buy it on occasion for old times sake, but it is not inexpensive. I'd really like to grow some. And just might get around to it this year.

PC

-- pc (pc@nowhere.com), January 29, 2002.

From what I understand the hardest part about growing celeriac is getting the seeds started. Aparently it has a low germanation rate. I'm trying to start it indoors for the first time. That is the recomended way as it will get lost in the garden if it germanates there. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

Yup its celeriac.Boil it and then mix in with mashed potatoes.very nice.

-- Veg guru (trouble@mill.com), January 29, 2002.

I am going to try it again this year but it completely flopped out last year. The seeds are very tiny and I couldn't get them to germinate. I replanted several times, this year I am going to plant inside and transplant them. They supposedly store very well in the root cellar.

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), January 30, 2002.