If you want to store raw celery in a fridge, you might have several questions running around your mind like how long will it last there? How can you refrigerate it and how can you preserve it for a long time? Storing celery can provide several benefits. You can have a healthy diet plan as you can serve it anytime, cutting food costs and helping your surroundings by avoiding waste.
According to research, it depends on a lot of factors aside from just storing it. We’ll also have to see the storage condition, the temperature, what type of celery are we storing in it, and the climate of the area where we live. First and Foremost, the precise answer to this question reckons largely on the storage conditions. If you will store them properly, they can be kept well for about 1 to 2 weeks in your fridge.
If we store it for over 3 weeks or more then it will start getting spoiled. A spoiled celery root is naturally soft, rubbery, and slimy. The color of it deteriorates over time and can be easily bent. You might even notice a faint white color on it. This happens for lack of chlorophyll and some people tend to call it hollow. There are around 3 methods in which you can store celery and we’ll discuss them below.
1. Wrapping celery:
To maximize the shelf life of celery, you can wrap it tightly in aluminum foil or stored it in a plastic bag or covered container. Although aluminum is not so eco-friendly, it is worth using it in name of preventing food waste. Experts recommend first wrap up celery in aluminum foil, then put it in a perforated bag in the refrigerator crisper for up to one week. If you don’t have a sealed plastic bag then you can use a damp towel as well and store it in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.
The tip is, though, you can wrap the aluminum foil tightly enough that the moisture doesn’t get out, but not tight enough that the ethylene gas can’t come out. Keeping celery heads whole will help in executing this process. Just make sure that while storing, don’t crimp or seal the edges of it. You can also reuse the aluminum foil multiple time to store a few rounds of celery, but you should be careful when wrapping it and unwrapping it.
It might be possible that celery becomes too shabby and tattered after keeping it for some days in the refrigerator. You can restore its crispness by trimming its rib ends and soaking the stalk in the cold water with added ice for about 10 to 20 minutes. After a few hours, the limp stalks will absorb enough amount of water to turn into crisp, crunchy celery. The container can be put into the refrigerator afterward to enjoy the crisp celery for several more days.
Keep in mind that the product is placed in a dry, cool place of the refrigerator. If celery is exposed to moisture, then it’s possible that it will catch brownish color inside any of its legumes and get waterlogged then wasted. It might also be possible that it will start smelling rotten due to ethylene gas observer. Like many other vegetables, celery needs to be stored in good conditions too, so keeping everything in check is better.
2. Preserving in the freezer:
For the long-term options, we can also freeze celery for up to 3 months. It can maintain its best quality for a maximum of 12 to 18 months. You can do this by washing and cutting down the celery stalk into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths and plunge it in boiling water for around 3 to 4 minutes. This will finish the blanching process. Then chill it quickly in a bowl of ice water and drain off the excessive moisture.
We can wrap it in an airtight container or plastic bags. To keep it safe indefinitely, celery needs to freeze at 0◦F. We advise keeping the temperature consistent. Although freezing wouldn’t exactly keep celery fresh it will help to prevent it from spoiling or wilting. Wash the celery properly to remove off dirt attached to it.
After removing it from its store package, cut the celery into pieces that are one and a half-inch long. Use of a cookie sheet is best in this case. Put the sheet in the freezer and once your celery freezes, cut off the pieces and put them into a freezer then put the bag back into the freezer. When you will thaw the celery, it will get soft and you can only use it for cooking dishes.
3. Storing in water:
Take a large glass bowl or a sealed plastic container. It’s also possible to use a plastic bag in this case that you can fill with water but it wouldn’t be easy though. Make sure you have a fresh supply of water and it should be clean. It’s best to use filtered water if available as tap water might come with a harmful number of bacteria. Even we can bring wilt celery back to life if we immerse it in water properly.
It will also require you toat least change the water every few days because keeping the celery hydrated will maintain the osmotic pressure in the cells that keeps the celery crisp. We can perform the same practice with other root vegetables like beets or parsnips too. Celery preserved in this way can be kept for at least 1-2 weeks in a refrigerator. When wanting to use, simply remove it from the water then rinse and eat. We should replace the lids and plastic wrap in case if there is still celery leftover.
How Long Does Cooked Celery last?
We can refrigerate cooked celery within 2 hours of cooking. The bacteria grow rapidly at temperatures between 40 ◦F and 140 ◦F. The cooked celery needs to be discarded if we leave it at room temperature for over 3 hours or more. In order to maximize its shelf life for its safety and quality, we can refrigerate the cooked celery in an empty airtight container or wrap it tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Cooked celery can last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. We can then thaw it in the microwave and serve it right away.
