g 



196 MISC. PUBLICATION 5 4 0, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Pacific Xorthwest. California, Florida, Michigan, and New York 

 grew approximately 85 percent of the 1942 commercial celery crop in 

 the United States. " The late-spring celery in California yielded about 

 25 tons to the acre, as compared with an average of 15 tons for other 

 celery crops of the same State during that year. The average yield 

 for all States was 14 tons per acre. 



Golden Self-Blanching and Golden Plume are well adapted to early 



roduction. For storage, Easy Bleaching Green, Utah, and Giant 



a seal are best. Other excellent varieties are Crispheart, Emperor, 

 and Winter Queen. Much of the late celery grown in the Northern 

 States, notably in Michigan and Xew York, is placed in storage where 

 it can be preserved for a period of from 2 to 4 months. While in 

 storage, celery must be kept as cool as possible without freezing. Ad- 

 ditional requirements are adequate air circulation and high relative 

 humidity (90 to 95 percent) . 



Steps in the preparation of celery for dehydration are fairly simple. 

 The discolored parts and those affected by plant diseases are first 

 trimmed out by hand ; then the stalks are given a thorough washing. 

 For soup mixtures, celery is finely shredded, both leaves and stalk, 

 and spread directly on the drying trays. For other purposes, the 

 leaves, which dry more rapidly, are trimmed from the thick, fleshy 

 stalks by hand and dried separately, either whole or shredded. The 

 stalks are cut by a rotary slicer into transverse slices about one-half to 

 three- fourths inch thick. 



The method of blanching celery for dehydration is the same as for 

 cabbage (table 21), with the exception that celery will require about 

 2 minutes. As is true of cabbage, present Government purchase speci- 

 fications require inactivation of the catalase system. Information on 

 the moisture content of the fresh material and on the maximum mois- 

 ture content permitted by Government specifications for dehydrated 

 celery can be found in table 22. The drying ratio and drying yield 

 are shown in table 23. Tables 24 and 25 contain information on suit- 

 able conditions for dehydration. 



Dehydrated celery is commonly ground to make celery salt, and is 

 also used as flakes in some soup mixes. The commercial preparations 

 include celery leaves, stalks, and roots dried separately. Dried cel- 

 ery can be ground to a powder in a hammer mill, and if it is to be 

 ground a shaker screen will be needed. Because celery is compara- 

 tively low in sugar content, the powder is not nearly so hygroscopic 

 as are onion and garlic powders. For this reason celery salt is not 

 likely to cake during grinding or use. Like other seasonings, de- 

 hydrated celery is packed in cans or cartons that protect it against 

 moisture absorption and loss of aroma. It is not necessary to pack 

 it under inert gas. For wholesale purposes in domestic trade, cartons 

 lined with two sheets of waxed paper are suggested. Ground celery 

 is packed at the rate of 20 to 25 pounds to a 5-gallon unit (table 26) . 



Rehydration tests are not feasible for leaf powder but may be 

 desirable for the stalks. Plant operators who wish to make tests 

 should regard pungency as a highly valuable characteristic, and tex- 

 ture as secondary in importance. 'Minimum amounts of water should 

 be used 3 and the material should be soaked rather than boiled. 



