Food storage hacks are crucial when it comes to keeping vegetables fresh for longer – and the same goes for celery.
Celery is a staple ingredient because it can be used for tons of different dishes.
From using it to scoop up hummus, as the base for soups and stews to adding celery to add more of a crunch to a regular salad, celery is an incredibly versatile vegetable to keep around.
While the long, crisp stalks can turn limp or even mushy when they are not prepared before being put away, celery can actually have a long shelf life with the right repackaging and storing methods.
Mike from Kitchen Tips Online took to his YouTube to share a storage method that “actually works” to preserve the lifespan of celery.
He started by showing the camera that he was storing the celery in his fridge wrapped in tin foil with had been in there for “four weeks”.
Mike said: “I have this celery wrapped up tightly in aluminium foil. This has been in there for four weeks. Let’s have a look at it.”
After Mike unwrapped the celery, he went to test whether or not the celery had got limp by snapping it. As he did so the celery gave a loud crunch.
So why does tin foil work so well? Mike explained: “The reason the foil works through best is that the foil protects the celery from ethylene gas.” The ethylene gas is what makes the vegetable go bad faster.
The plastic bag celery comes in should be discarded because it actually traps the ethylene gas that the produce releases and causes it to spoil faster.
To store celery in the fridge for a month, it is important that you start with a whole head of celery rather than individual stalks.
Removing any leaves will also help extend the shelf life because they will spoil faster and cause the stalks to also go bad more quickly.
You can wrap a dry or wet paper towel around the whole head if you like or you can simply jump to the tin foil stage.
The important thing is that you securely and snuggly cover the whole head of celery with tin foil. This should keep celery crisp and as fresh as you could want.
Taking to the comments section of the video, one user claimed that this hack kept their celery fresh for two months.
@roxo36 said: “His trick to preserve celery is game-changing. I was able to keep my two huge celery stalks for eight weeks and they were still extremely crunchy.”
Others were also impressed by the tip. @chillytoes337 wrote: “Awesome tip! My celery always goes bad before I can use it all up! I will try this for sure! Thanks!”
@bonniediep5324 said: “Yeah that’s what I do and it works!” @wildandes1185 commented: “Awesome, I’ve lost so much celery over the years to sogginess. Thanks.”
