Celariac

This is another vegetable that is popular on the Continent but not so much here in the U.K. Celeriac can occasionally be seen on sale in some greengrocers and typically has a very large, rounded, Beetroot type, shape, but is very knobbly with a rough surface. Shop bought specimens will be much larger at maybe 6-7 inches or more across, than home grown vegetables are likely to be.

Unlike Beetroot, Celeriac is not a true root vegetable as it is the swollen stem and not the roots that we eat. In fact when preparing the vegetable for cooking you will need to cut off all the remnants of the roots that you will find on the underside of the Celeriac before you can really peel it. The plant has a similar flavour to Celery and has the same family name of Apium Graveolens Var, but it is much easier to grow, as it does not need "earthing up" like Celery, it doesn’t bolt and has no real pests or diseases. However, it does need plenty of water and good soil.

Harvesting can be done in late Autumn and there is no need to worry about picking the crop before the Celeriac get too big and woody, as happens with many root vegetables, because bigger simply means more vegetable, as the quality is not affected by size.

Shop bought vegetables seem very expensive to buy, but of course one single vegetable is a lot of solid mass/weight compared to a bag full of carrots. Because of its size/weight it is a very worthwhile vegetable to grow as only a few plants will produce enough vegetable to last a family for a year!

There are many ways to use Celeriac in the kitchen as it can be grated and eaten cold in salads, or it can be cubed and cooked/boiled like most other vegetables. The biggest problem with Celeriac is that as it is such a big vegetable it is unlikely that you will use it all at once and once cut the surface will quickly go brown. Pouring lemon juice over the cut surface helps to prevent browning as does wrapping it in plastic film and storing it in the fridge.

Adverts