How to Store Celery in the Fridge

Storing vegetables can sometimes be a hassle. One day your veggies are green and crisp, and then suddenly, they’re soggy. Storing celery in the fridge is one of those confusing tasks. Do you chop it off or keep it as a whole? Do you store it in a container or leave it uncovered?

We’re here to answer all those questions for you and more. In this guide, we’ll tell you how to store celery in the fridge, so it lasts until you’re ready to eat the last plant.

We’ll go over two methods for storing celery. The first method is for storing whole stalks, and the second is for storing cut celery. So, let’s get started!

Two Ways to Store Celery in the Fridge

Why does celery become limp quickly? This is because celery is almost 95% water, so when it dehydrates, it spoils.

The key to keeping your celery fresh is to lock the moisture in and keep it hydrated for as long as possible.

There are two ways to keep your celery fresh; the first works well for storing whole celery stalks, and the second works better for chopped celery. Let’s start with storing the whole celery stalk.

Storing Celery Stalks

Most celery at grocery stores is sold in plastic wraps. This plastic is bad for the celery because it traps ethylene, a hormone produced by plants, which causes them to spoil. So, first, you want to remove the celery from the plastic wrap as soon as you go home.

Next, wash your celery well and clean it of dirt. To make sure your celery is clean, you can soak it in vinegar.

Fill a container with water, add a cup of vinegar, then put in your celery and leave for 15 minutes, then rinse. This will help keep the celery fresh for longer as the vinegar helps remove bacteria and dirt residue on vegetables.

Wrap Your Celery In Aluminum Foil

After washing your celery, let it dry, and then wrap the celery stalks in aluminum foil. Aluminum foil is good for storing celery because, unlike plastic, it allows the ethylene gas to escape, making the celery stay fresh for longer.

The aluminum also preserves the moisture that is already in the celery, which keeps it from getting dehydrated.

You want to wrap the aluminum foil tightly enough that the moisture stays in. However, you don’t want it to be too tight that the ethylene can’t escape. Also, make sure that you keep the edges and head uncovered.

It’s true, aluminum isn’t the most eco-friendly product out there, but it does largely prevent food waste. If you want to be less wasteful, you could reuse the same aluminum foil to store celery more than once. You can then dispose of or recycle it when it’s shredded or crumpled.

Finally, place the celery wrapped in aluminum in your crisper drawer to preserve its freshness. This method will keep your celery fresh for 2–3 weeks, sometimes even up to a month, depending on the freshness of the celery and your fridge’s coolness level.

Storing Cut Celery

Generally, it’s better to store celery as a whole and chop it when you’re ready to eat or cook it. This is because whole celery retains water better than cut celery.

However, sometimes you might have leftover cut celery from when you were cooking. Storing cut celery has a different storage method than whole celery to keep it hydrated as long as possible.

As the cut celery will lose water faster, you’ll have to keep it in water. Place your cut celery in an airtight container. Make sure the celery is fully submerged in water.

This method will keep the celery fresh because it absorbs the water in the container. Your celery will stay crisp for around two weeks.

Conclusion

All in all, celery needs to be stored in the fridge to stay fresh and crisp for a long time. To maintain its freshness, the celery needs to stay hydrated.

The best way to keep it hydrated is to wrap the whole celery stalk in aluminum foil and keep it in the crisper drawer.

However, if you prefer to keep your celery pre-cut, keep it in an airtight container, fully submerged in water.

With these simple tips, you can keep your celery fresh for weeks.