No Stupid Questions

Yes, I genuinely enjoy the flavor of celery and distinctly miss the flavor when it’s absent. I grew up eating it raw with peanut butter, or melted/spreadable cheese. I grew up thinking it mostly tasted like water and was just a good vehicle for other flavors, but as my palate developed I noticed, and loved, the flavor more and more. In soups especially.

They say it takes something like twelve tries of a new flavor for your body to stop being afraid of it and actually enjoy it, and that most disliked foods are this kind of instinctual rejection. Maybe just try to force it a dozen times? I know that’s not pleasant advice, and I only recommend it if avoiding celery is something that will cause you life difficulties, such as in social situations.

Not sure if anyone answered the actual question but a reason celery is included is, in addition to being part of the traditional mirepoix, because the pectin content breaks down and results in a just so slightly thicker stock

I like celery, but am really interested to learn the answer here. The other ingredient that gets added to everything is onions. Fwiw I know the answer to that one: they're full of sugar. "First, soften some onions..." is basically a way of adding sweetness to food

What kind of weirdo doesn't like celery? Next you're going to tell me rhubarb is too tart, or you have to cook fennel.

Celery is used because it’s cheap…and it’s bitter balancing onions and other cheap stock items that tend to be sweet. A stock shouldn’t be sweet or bitter because it’s something you “work up”.

“Everybody” doesn’t use it tho. Some stocks are “garbage can” stocks, using whatever unservable scraps that come from food preparation…others are from ingredients purchased to make the stock like a Mirpoix (the most common stock base that uses celery).

There are lots of people like you that say celery ruins stock…there are many others that say bell peppers ruin stock…but then there are core stocks made from bell peppers.

Just do what tastes good.

I like celery. I add it when making stock (both ribs and leaves), chop up a few ribs and cook it in soup with carrots and onion, and I like to eat it raw as a snack.

I’m with you - celery is horrid. Right up there with coriander for me as something that completely overpowers and ruins anything it’s used in.

Sensitivity varies, and I find celery to be a nice and subtle flavor like onions and carrots on soup. Love celery with peanut butter on it, although for the crunch as the peanut butter totally overpowers it.

Some people are more sensitive to different flavors.

They do it bc that's how they learned it in culinary school / that's how the recipe goes. It adds a bitter flavor to balance onion and carrot. You don't need it and you can replace it with something else.

I feel the same as you, my wife loves celery and puts it on everything but I feel like it subtracts flavors on most stuff. She eats raw celery all the time, I can maybe stand it with a lot of ranch next to some buffalo wings