Flavour nugget #26: and the trending ingredient is... celeryCrisp! Fresh! Taking over the internet!
First, two things! Flavour Nuggets was featured in this past Sunday’s edition of the Observer Food Monthly. I wrote five recipes for excellent NUGGS, which you can find here. There’s a date and ancho chilli chocolate sauce; an ‘ultimate Caesar’ salad; a super green seasoning oil you can eat with *so* many things, plus more! Do check it out. Second, it’s your last chance to get 25% off an annual subscription! As a paid sub, you’ll receive an extra weekly recipe and newsletter, access to the entire Flavour Nuggets archive (all recipes go behind the paywall after 2 weeks), and a direct line to me via chat. Whatcha waiting for?
Celery is trendy again. Didn’t see it coming? Me neither, but celery has had many moments throughout history, not just in the context of boring, pointless, and actually quite dangerous juice cleanses (the 2019 juice trend was kicked off by a man who calls himself The Medical Medium - say no more). Now, influencers are piling their thrifted china platters with bias-cut stalks before telling us this is the only celery recipe we will ever need. Thing is, some of us have long loved this stalky freak. You’ll probably know that celery is 95% water, but I’m not sure why people think this is bad. They want the water replaced by other stuff, I’m guessing, but think about it: the water content means it’s hydrating! Plus, celery has fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Don’t be mean to celery for doing things differently. She’s a visionary! It’s this water content that makes celery such a refreshing, crisp addition to salads, but don’t forget it has a distinctive, herbaceous, earthy flavour which means it’s as essential in French mirepoix or the Cajun and Creole ‘holy trinity’ as it is glorious braised in a gooey gratin or standing proud in a Bloody Mary.
No one loved celery more than the Victorians, who would display its leggy ribs tufted with leaves (themselves excellent in salads) in made-for-purpose glass celery vases. Just like they loved pineapples because they were rare and ‘exotic’, celery was prized thanks to being a pain in the ass to grow. People entered a frenzy, with the wealthiest households making it the centrepiece of their meals. In 2025, we’re seeing a trend for single-ingredient cookbooks; I bet a Victorian-era ‘celery with everything’ tome would’ve made some waves. Now, there is a ‘viral celery salad’ recipe that did, and is still doing, the rounds on TikTok, where I lurk and scroll while also maintaining a distinctly underwhelming profile. The salad is about textures and contrasts, which any good salad should focus on. There are dates, there is Parmesan, and there are nuts. I wanted to have a go. What is it that drives a trend like this? One possibility is the scarcity effect, a well-established cognitive bias. Not seen something for a while? It’s suddenly appealing. And while we might not view celery as ‘valuable’ in the strictest commercial sense of the word, heroing something long-ignored - celebrating its idiosyncrasies all of a sudden - lights up those neurons and gets us running to the veg aisle (incidentally, the celery vase fell out of favour as it became ‘too common’).
Anyway, the salad, which I have interpreted below, is good. It has contrast - sweet/sharp, crunchy/soft - and some umami from the Parmesan. I ate the whole plate and enjoyed it. Of course, I couldn’t leave it there. There was work to do, and it involved taking the basic premise and adding a bit more excitement (you can find that recipe in this week’s Supersize Me!) I’m pleased to see celery having another go; it’s the perfect addition to spring and summer salads, lazy cheeseplates with frosty white wine and alright, maybe even the odd juice. Like the recent frenzies for kale and cottage cheese, there’s pleasure to be had in celebrating the underdog, ripe for a quick spit and polish and into the limelight once more.
Viral Celery Salad
Combine the shallot, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and some salt in a bowl and mix well. Add the dates and pecans, plus a good handful of shaved Parmesan (do this with a vegetable peeler so you get strips). Drain the celery and toss well to combine. Have a taste and add more lemon juice, olive oil and/or salt as needed. It should be zingy.
SUPERSIZE ME! This week I ran with the celery salad and made my own version, and it slaps (say so myself). I max out on the contrasts with golden baked pitta chips for buttery crunch, sumac for extra zing and… well, you’ll have to come on over to find out. Plus! My top tips for using celery. Until next time, Flavour Fans x
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Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Flavour nugget #26: and the trending ingredient is... celery
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