I loveBeet "Celery"

Dateline: 25 June 2013

Some beet greens in my 2013 garden

If you have seen my Planet Whizbang logo, you would not be surprised to learn that I like beets. Beet greens are especially lovely to me. Steamed beet greens (with a little homemade cider vinegar dripped on top) are something pretty special. But I think garden-fresh beet "celery" is pretty special too.

Beet "celery"

Beet "celery" is my term for the succulent, stems of beet greens.  They are celery-like when they are just-picked, and they are delicious.

The best way to enjoy beet-celery is to pull up a beet plant when it is lush with leaves but the beet root is not yet formed, like shown in the picture above. Then break off a stalk at the base and, with the leaf in your hand, feed the stalk into your mouth, while chewing it down—like Bugs Bunny chews down a carrot. 

As you crush the stem with your teeth, the earthy-sweet, raw beet-stem juices are easily released, and that's what it's all about. Stop when you get to the leaf, and start "juicing" another length of beet-celery into your mouth.

As with the familiar celery-celery, beet-celery has some internal "strings," but they are no problem at all. You can spit them right out after extracting the stem-juice, or you can just chew the strings for awhile.

You can't buy good beet-celery, even at the best of farmer's markets. That's because beet stems go limp soon after picking, and there is nothing particularly good about limp beet-celery (but limp greens can be successfully steamed). The only way to truly experience beet celery at its very best is to chew-juice the stalks within a few minutes of picking. Within a few seconds is even better. I typically enjoy a few stalks of beet celery right in the garden, and they are best in the morning.

Just writing about beet-celery makes my mouth water with anticipation. It's now 6:00 in the morning. Birds are singing their morning songs outside my window. The day will be hot and muggy, but it is still morning-cool. Everything is fresh outdoors, including the beet-celery. The beet-celery is beckoning me......


P.S. Beet celery is not something you eat a lot of. One bunch of celery stems from a single beet is just enough for me. It's something of a garden tonic. Try it and see what you think.