Celery Seed

Closely resembling anise and fennel, the cute little celery seed is ridged, with alternating stripes pale and dark brown, and is about the size of a poppy seed. It has a hay-like, grassy, slightly astringent, bitter taste and similar aroma. These seeds comes from wild celery, a relative of the kind we buy in grocery stores, and have a stronger and more intense flavor than commercial celery’s root, stem or leaf. Our celery seed, sourced from India, has a volatile oil content of 1-2% by weight. The volatile oil is primarily composed of d-limonene, which is the same chemical that gives citrus peels their snappy, brisk aroma.

Celery Seed and its parent, wild celery, have been in use for thousands of years. Garlands of celery leaves were discovered in the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun—King Tut—who died in 1323 BCE. It’s believed that celery was once called selinon, a plant that Homer wrote about in The Odyssey, circa 850 BCE. An archeological dig in a sanctuary of the goddess Hera, located in Samos, Greece uncovered pieces of celery seed-bearing carpels (seed packages) that dated to 600 BC. The Greeks and Romans referred to celery as "smallage" and harvested it in the wild for its medicinal properties. The Romans were the first to value it as a seasoning and use it in cooking.

Tips From Our Kitchen

Cooking enhances its sweetness and reduces its bitterness, but use cautiously! Celery Seed is pungent and can overpower a dish. Toast celery seed in a dry pan to wake up the volatile oils and add it to potato salad, pimento cheese, or succotash. Mix with pepper and lemon peel to season strong-tasting fish, like salmon. Add to chopped tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers for a Creole salsa. This is a must-have for homemade sausages or bread & butter pickles. You can substitute Celery Seed in many dishes that call for fresh celery. One teaspoon of celery seed equals 2 tablespoons minced celery tops. If you would prefer to purchase it ground, we also have Ground Celery Seed available.

Our celery seed is cultivated in India.

This product is certified kosher.

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