The Great Veggie Experiment – Celery Root

Celery Root – aka celeriac.  Kind of an ugly root vegetable, no?  Now it looks like a root veggie, but really has very little starch, which is interesting.

The tag on the celery root said “Mild aroma and flavor of celery and walnuts with a crisp texture.”  Okay, we’ll see.

First, I peeled it, which was a bit of a pain because it isn’t smooth.

The smell was fresh and almost sweet.  I decided to try a nibble raw.  Please don’t laugh at my face, I was scared.  I really don’t like celery, to be truthful.

(goodness, my freckles have popped out big time with the biking!)

It was fairly bland, kind of like celery and a little sweet.  No walnut flavor to me.  Okay, not bad.

For this, I loosely followed a recipe online to cook it.  Cubed the celery root, then tossed with some macadamia nut oil, salt, pepper and crushed dried rosemary.  I roasted this at 400 for about 20 minutes, then threw some baby carrots in there and cooked for another 20 minutes.

It actually looks good.  It looks like  a potato.

The verdict?  Ewwww!! I hated it.  The celery flavor became very concentrated and strong.  I don’t like celery – what was I thinking?  It had sort of the texture of a potato, but a little more chewy.

I wish it tasted like nuts, but I didn’t get that at all.  Definite miss for me on this one.  Maybe prepared a different way I might like it, but not purchasing this again.  I will be picking out the carrots and saving those and tossing the celery root.

18 thoughts on “The Great Veggie Experiment – Celery Root”

  1. Kimberley

    LOL! You have the carrots, and I’ll eat the celery root. It looks so delicious cooked that way…I will have to try roasting it.

  2. Cammy@TippyToeDiet

    Well, you tried. (Reads like my parsnips experience. :))

    When you said celery and walnuts, I wondered how it might be with apples and…whatever else goes in a Waldorf salad.

  3. debby

    Well, kudos for trying! I didn’t think of it until you said it at the end, but yes, roasting always concentrates the flavor of vegetables. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes not. I actually like celery raw, but I can’t stand the smell of it cooking. weird, huh?

  5. Sharon

    We don’t even have that here where I live!! I am kind of a “don’t know if I like celery” kind of girl, so I wouldn’t most likely think it was the best thing I’ve tried!

  6. Tish

    But how did you really feel about it?? LOL It looked good to me and I like celery, raw and cooked. Might try this. Guess you find it in the “ugly vegetable” part of the produce section. I trust you wear sunscreen on your bike rides. Slather, slather, slather! (Just passed the 5 year mark as a survivor of a malignant melanoma).

    1. Lori Post author

      I do wear sunscreen – 50 SPF. I just pop out in freckles no matter how much sunscreen I wear. Better freckles than sunburn, though.

  9. Sharon

    I do miss cooking and trying new things to make while we are traveling, but not sure I’ll be experimenting with this!!! At least you tried and I always have some hits/misses of new veggies during the summer season. Keep trying………

  14. Daria

    You may want to try jicama (if you haven’t already). It’s sweet, crisp, great raw – I love it julienned in salads. Good for you for being brave when it comes to roots!

  15. Lynea

    I also hate celery!!
    BUT i like celery root in stews. you get that subtle flavor the stew needs from the celery but the texture of a potato. AND you aren’t eating just bites of it…

  17. Fran

    I don’t eat celery root that often and if I do it’s an ingredient in a dish. I never eat it as a vegetable dish. Don’t really like it either.

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