Substitute For Celery: 7 Ingredients You Can Also Use
The crunchy stalks of celery make it an excellent snack to munch on if you are watching your weight. Alternatively, this will also make a great addition to egg or tuna salad. It can also be stir-fried, added to a soup, or used as a side dish, among others.
Aside from versatility, it is loaded with health benefits. Aside from having low calories, it is also high in fiber. This makes it excellent for improving digestion and speeding weight loss. It has antioxidants, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, and potassium. It is also excellent for regulating cholesterol and blood pressure.
What if celery is not available in the kitchen? What is the perfect substitute for celery that can be used? The choices will depend on the specific use of the celery that you are looking at. With this, keep on reading and learn more about some of the best replacements that are available.
Carrots
This should be on the top of the list if you are looking for the perfect celery substitution. Especially when it is eaten raw, it will have the same crunch that you get when snacking on celery. To make the most out of carrots, make sure that they are fresh when eaten. Chop in slender sizes if you plan to eat them as snacks.
The good thing about carrots is that it can also deliver a wide array of benefits for your health. Among others, it has beta carotene and fiber. It is also a potent source of Vitamins, A, C, K, and B8. To add, it is rich in manganese, potassium, iron, copper, and folate.
Like celery, if you find the taste of carrots to be too bland, one great solution is to make your own dipping sauce. This will add flavor that you will love, which is also perfect to entice kids to eat their veggies. Mango guacamole, parmesan dip, dill dip, and cucumber dip are some of the most popular.
Below is a short video showing how you can make cream cheese dip, which you can use for either celery or carrot sticks.
Jicama
A lot of you may have not yet heard of Jicama in the past. Also known as Mexican turnip or Mexican yam bean, this is another vegetable that will make an excellent substitute for celery. While it can be prepared in a variety of ways, one of the best is just eating it raw, like what you would do with carrot and celery sticks. A nice dip will make a huge difference.
Be sure to peel the jicama first before it is eaten. A sharp knife will do the trick, but never a vegetable peeler. Cut it into small portions, just like celery sticks. While you can eat it on its own or with dip, you can also add it in salsa, soup, spring rolls, or slaws, among others.
Eating jicama is also good for your health. It is an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, dietary fiber, folate, and iron, among others.
Fennel Stalk
A lot of people may instantly throw fennel stalks, thinking that there is no good use for it. Well, you might want to think again. It has a texture and crunch that are the same that you will get from a celery stick, making it another excellent choice for a substitute. These two have the same herbal flavor.
There are different ways to cooking and eating fennel stalk. One of the simplest is through having it combined with carrots and onions. You can also use it as an ingredient when simmering beef. Or best, add them raw to your favorite salad!
Artichoke Thistle
Also popularly known as cardoon, this is a leafy vegetable that comes with a stalk similar to what you can find in celery. It has a tender and sweet flavor, especially if you choose the right stalks. See to it that the color is grey or green and that it is moist.
It should be noted, however, that artichoke thistle should not be eaten raw. It will taste bitter and you will instantly dread its flavor. With this, one thing that you can do is to have it soaked in salted water to make the taste more tolerable.
There are other ways of cooking and preparing cardoon. For instance, you can simmer it in water or vegetable stock. This process will also be effective in getting rid of the bitter aftertaste of the stalks.
Cabbage
Eating cabbage raw can also be a good option if you are looking for the best celery substitute. However, for most people, they use it like celery in their soups and risotto. Adding salt and spices is highly recommended to improve the flavor of cabbage, which some people may find to be bland.
Cabbage is cheap and widely-available, aside from the fact that it can deliver excellent benefits for your health. It is known to be effective in the prevention of skin disorders, stomach ulcers, constipation, arthritis, gout, jaundice, and rheumatism, among others.
The key to enjoying optimal flavor and texture of cabbage is to make sure that they are fresh. Pay attention to color and see to it that there are no distortions in the leaves. It should also never be pre-cut. Doing the latter can lead to oxidation and loss of Vitamin C.
Bok Choy
Also known as pak choi or Chinese cabbage, this is another substitute for celery that can be eaten either raw or used in cooked recipes. For a lot of people, this is even considered to be a better option compared to raw celery because it tends to have a richer flavor.
Originally from China, this is now available all over the world. It is known not only for culinary applications, but also in the world of traditional Chinese medicine. It has Vitamins, A, C, and K. It also contains magnesium, iron, manganese, and potassium.
Steaming and boiling are two of the most popular ways of cooking Bok Choy. However, if you want to retain the crunch similar to celery, it should not be soaked in water. Stir-frying can be a good idea. Better yet, use it raw, which will make an excellent addition to your salad.
Dill Seed
A lot of people may be using celery because of the crunch of its stalk. However, its seed is equally important. Celery seeds have a strong flavor and aroma. They can be used in pickles, stews, soups, breads, chutneys, and sauces, among others. If celery seed is not available, you can consider using dill seed as an alternative.
While seeds of dill are fat and white, those from celery are oblong in shape and darker in color. Despite the differences in appearance, however, the flavor is almost the same. When using it for substitution, use the same amount of dill seed that you would when celery seed is available.
Whether it is the seed, leaf, or stalk of celery that you use, they will probably have the same flavor. The only difference is that the seeds can be more overpowering.
Conclusion
From the discussions above, we hope that you already know what can make the perfect substitute for celery. Whether it is eaten raw or cooked, there are several replacements that can prove to be as promising, or even better. They can also be prepared in more ways than one and they have exceptional nutritional value.
Did you enjoy reading this post? Have you tried any celery substitution that proved to be good? Feel free to share a comment below.