Celeriac

rapaceum), also called celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery (although it is not a close relative of the turnip), is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible stem or hypocotyl, and shoots. Celeriac is like a root vegetable except it has a bulbous hypocotyl with many small roots attached.

Celeriac
A celeriac hypocotyl sliced in half, and with the greens removed
Genus	Apium
Species	Apium graveolens
Cultivar group	Celeriac Group
Cultivar group members	Bergers White Ball Diamant Giant Prague Goliath Ibis Kojak Monarch Monet F1 Prinz Snow White

Celeriac is widely cultivated in the Mediterranean Basin and in Northern Europe. It is also but less commonly cultivated in North Africa, Siberia, Southwest Asia, and North America. In North America, the 'Diamant' cultivar predominates.

Wild celery (Apium graveolens var. graveolens), from which both celeriac and celery derive, originated in the Mediterranean Basin. It was mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey as selinon. Celeriac was grown as a medicinal crop in some early civilizations. Celery contains a plant compound called apigenin, which was used in traditional Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent.

 

Typically, celeriac is harvested when its hypocotyl is 10 to 14 centimetres (4 to 5+1⁄2 inches) in diameter. However, a growing trend (specifically in South American cuisine, particularly Peruvian) is to use the immature vegetable, valued for its intensity of flavour and tenderness overall. It is edible raw or cooked, and tastes similar to the leaf stalks of common celery cultivars but with a different texture. Celeriac may be roasted, stewed, or blanched, and may be mashed. Sliced celeriac is used as an ingredient in soups, casseroles, and other savory dishes. The leaves (both the stalks and the blades) of the vegetable are also quite flavoursome, and aesthetically delicate and vibrant, which has led to their use as a garnish in contemporary fine dining.^{[citation needed]}

The shelf life of celeriac is approximately six to eight months if stored between 0 and 5 °C (32 and 41 °F), and not allowed to dry out. However, the vegetable will tend to rot through the centre if the finer stems surrounding the base are left attached. The centre of celeriac becomes hollow as it ages, though even freshly harvested celeriacs can have a small medial hollow. The freshness will also be obvious from the taste; the older it is, the weaker the celery flavour.^{[citation needed]}

• List of vegetables
• List of root vegetables