The Complete Handbook of Celery Roots

Chapter 1: Understanding Celery Roots

The thing called a "celery root" is botanically not a root at all. It is the swollen base of the stem and the upper portion of the taproot of a specific variety of celery, Apium graveolens var. rapaceum. The edible part is a tuber-like structure known as a hypocotyl, which is the region where the stem and the root meet. It stores the energy and nutrients the plant needs to survive the winter and produce flowers and seeds in its second year. This is the key to understanding the product: you are buying a living storage organ, not an inert vegetable. It continues to respire, lose moisture, and change in quality from the moment it is harvested.

Commercially, this crop is grown for its swollen hypocotyl, not for the small, fibrous petioles (leaf stalks) that grow from its top. Buyers who are new to the product often confuse it with celery, and the confusion is understandable. The plant is leafy like celery, but its value is below the soil line. In the field, the plant looks like a clump of coarse, dark green celery stalks with hollow or nearly hollow centers that are tough and bitter. The edible hypocotyl sits just under the soil surface, often partially exposed as it expands. Commercial growers typically mound soil up around the developing root to block out light. This blanching process keeps the upper shoulder of the root from turning green and developing a harsh, grassy bitterness.