# Why is Celery such a common ingredient? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826 "2004-02-18T18:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/1 "2004-02-18T18:06:20Z")
I was eating some Campbells Chunky Chicken Noodle soup yesterday for lunch and I began to wonder… what is the point of celery in soups? It is a very common ingredient but I was wondering why. There doesnt seem to be a flavor… and I cant think of any nutritional value. 😕 Anyone have some history on adding celery to soup??? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/2 "2004-02-18T18:16:29Z")
Texture? Is there a 10 letter word for texture? Just in case, you know, somebody asks about celery or something in the future. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rose)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/3 "2004-02-18T18:22:21Z")
here’s my guess… soup needs to have something in it… imho, anyways… and celery is healthy (it’s a veggie, i think it has a lot of fiber, no calories) and it has a very light, hardly-there taste so it can go with anything. Every other veggie has a defintie taste; carrots have that weird sweetness, brocolli is ind of bitter, tomatoes have that sort of tart sweetness…but celery is very watery. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/4 "2004-02-18T19:13:09Z")
Speaking as a cooking maniac, to me celery may not taste mike much in itself, but it adds a certain _je ne sais quoi_ to many other things. Maybe it’s the aroma? Julia Child, if you’re a cookbook-reading geek like I am, classifies it as one of the primary aromatic vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/5 "2004-02-18T19:13:28Z")
Celery _does_ have a taste… Celery salt is the concetrated version of this taste. Specifically it lends a certain salty flavor. I consider it a vital ingredient in any chicken broth. From a practical perspective, it doesn’t turn to revolting mush when cooked and canned. So that makes it a good choice for a canned soup. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/6 "2004-02-18T19:44:03Z")
As stated, celelery adds texture and flavor (although not overbearing) to many dishes. Another reason that it is included in so many recipes could be that many of our more common dishes, like soups come down to us from a tradition of poverty cooking. Many traditional recipes come from this tradition, where less expensive items are used to bulk up dishes that would otherwise not be nearly so satisfying to the hungry. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/7 "2004-02-18T20:02:49Z")
Celery definitely has flavour. Yummy flavour. And texture. I often add celery to onions, garlic, and ginger that I’m frying for a stir-fry - they get soft but still a bit crispy, and it flavours the dish really nicely. ---
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/8 "2004-02-18T21:22:33Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > Celery definitely has flavour. Yummy flavour. > > And texture. I often add celery to onions, garlic, and ginger that I’m frying for a stir-fry - they get soft but still a bit crispy, and it flavours the dish really nicely. I will have to try that. I **have** wondered what else I could add to stirfry that I havent tried… celery could be the ticket. I was thinking that, like Tofu, celery often takes on the flavor of what you cook it with… if your cooking it. I have never notice much of a flavor otherwise. For instance, eating it raw, it seems like it is more of a watery/ lettuce like touch- not so much a flavor- but a texture definitly! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/9 "2004-02-18T22:46:04Z")
So you can’t find any flavor in a can of Cambell’s soup and you’re _surprised_ by this? How can you taste anything but the salt? 😃 Celery is integral to stocks and soups. It’s part of the holy trio of onions, celery and carrots called a _mirapoix_. The blending of these flavors creates the robust flavor of a vegetable stock and the resulting sauces derived therefrom. A second holy triumvirate of celery, onion and bell pepper is the bedrock for Creole and Cajun cooking. No point in celery? How _dare_ you! ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/10 "2004-02-18T23:40:19Z")
Mirepoix, after the chef of the Duc de Levis-Mirepoix in France. Very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/11 "2004-02-19T00:05:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So you can’t find any flavor in a can of Cambell’s soup and you’re _surprised_ by this? How can you taste anything but the salt? 😃 > > Celery is integral to stocks and soups. It’s part of the holy trio of onions, celery and carrots called a _mirapoix_. The blending of these flavors creates the robust flavor of a vegetable stock and the resulting sauces derived therefrom. > > A second holy triumvirate of celery, onion and bell pepper is the bedrock for Creole and Cajun cooking. > > No point in celery? How _dare_ you! On the contrary- I did not say there was no point in celery. Being unaware (and certain there must be answers on SD) I asked if there _was_ a point. Glad I did too- good learning experience, especially since I have begun to take an interest in cooking. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/12 "2004-02-19T00:26:14Z")
Yes celery does have a taste. Raw celery tastes great; cooked celery nauseates me. The flavor, the texture… gah. The only thing worse than cooked celery is cooked carrots. Bleah. Yuk. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/13 "2004-02-19T00:47:56Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Mirepoix, after the chef of the Duc de Levis-Mirepoix in France. > Very tasty. Yeah, I’ve seen it spelled both ways. The version with an ‘a’ seems to be the Americanized one and is technically incorrect. The town in the south of France is indeed spelled with an ‘e’. Actually, a mirepoix may contain other ingredients besides the three I mentioned. **RainGrowsBrite** : I was just teasing you a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Innanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecd19e/32.png) [@Innanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innanna)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-celery-such-a-common-ingredient/229826/14 "2004-02-19T01:53:42Z")
> [@RainGrowsBrite](#): > > I was eating some Campbells Chunky Chicken Noodle soup yesterday for lunch and I began to wonder… what is the point of celery in soups? It is a very common ingredient but I was wondering why. There doesnt seem to be a flavor… and I cant think of any nutritional value. 😕 Anyone have some history on adding celery to soup??? To torture me. Much like the adding of _shudder_ coconut to otherwise yummy dishes, the Evil Celery gods like to watch me react to finding the nasty stuff in otherwise good and wholesome dishes. It amuses the demonic creatures. They laugh. Oh, they laugh. _more shuddering_ Gah.