All About Celery | Know Your Spice Shalari or Ajmud (Apium graveolens)

All About Celery | Know Your Spice Shalari or Ajmud (Apium graveolens) – The dried ripe fruits (Ajmud fruit) are used as spice.

Leaves and stalks are used as salads and in soups. It is also widely used in meat seasonings, in flavouring beverages, confectionaries, ice creams and baked goods.

It is figured as a natural medicine in different cultures. In modern medicine, it is used as a stimulant and for treating asthma and liver diseases.

Shalari comes from a herbaceous biennial herb of the parsley family. The plant grows to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall and occurs around the globe.

The seeds used as a spice are broad ovoid to globose, 1.5–2 mm (¹⁄₁₆–⁵⁄₆₄ in) long and wide.

Celery was considered a cleansing tonic to counter the deficiencies of a winter diet based on salted meats without fresh vegetables.

This red spice information card below gives you a snapshot of Celery spice you’ll read about. Do share this spice card with your friends & spread the knowledge.

Modern celery is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean region of Europe and was used by early civilizations for the medicinal properties they thought it contained.

Medieval books on herbal remedies suggested using Apium graveolens for controlling hysteria, soothing nerves, and promoting restful sleep.

Even though the presumed medicinal properties of ajmud have been disproven, it still is considered a “health food” (of sorts) because of its low caloric value and significant fiber content.

Shalari was probably first used as a food by the French around 1623. For about the next century its use was confined to flavoring because of the pungency of early types.

The late 17th and early 18th century saw improvements of the wild types of celery making its stalks (petioles) better for use in salads.

By the middle part of the 18th century celery stored in cellars was enjoyed by the more affluent people of northern Europe during the winter.

Its use as a food spread rapidly after that time. It most likely was introduced to America by the colonists and, by 1806, four cultivated varieties were listed.

In the United States today, the variety ‘Pascal‘ dominates commercial production.

Celery has a mild and strong taste at the same time, giving it a bold yet balanced flavour. It reminds you of raw or green onions in a way, with an earthy taste.

It can also taste different to some people, and has a plant-like taste much like salad leaves and kale does. 

When you eat raw Apium graveolens, you’ll notice that your tongue can feel slightly tingly due to the celery’s furanocoumarins.

• • It pairs well with cheese, dips, such as humus & even peanut butter
  • Combining ajmud with cucumber, apple, spinach, and lemon can produce a tasty and healthful smoothie.
  • Apium graveolens or celery seeds are added to salads, soups, risottos
  • Raw Apium graveolens can make a handy low-calorie snack.
  • It is used as a mosquito repellant.
  • People also take shalari by mouth for prediabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, as a “water pill”.

For the best results, keep the heads whole, wrap them up tightly in aluminum foil, and then keep them in the refrigerator crisper drawer as usual.

When stored this way, Apium graveolens stalks can maintain their freshness anywhere from two to four weeks.

Refrigerate as soon as possible or it will go limp. Wrap in a dry towel and place in a plastic bag or wrap tightly in foil and store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.

It should keep for up to two to four weeks. For long-term storage, it can be frozen. It will keep in the freezer for a few months.

Alternatively, you can blanch and refresh diced celery, drain thoroughly and freeze for up to 6 months.

• Use shalari when making vegetable, meat or fish stock.
• Use it in a creamy baked gratin.
• Chop it into chunks and serve with creamy hummus.
• Apium graveolens is a key ingredient in the classic Waldorf salad.
• Blitz it into a smooth soup with potatoes and garlic.
• Serve it in a salad to go with meats.
• Goes very well with a chicken steak.
• Make a mirepoix with 2-1-1 ratio of diced onions, carrots, and celery.
• Make ants on a log.

In cooked dishes, you can substitute Celery with Celeriac, Fennel, Anise, Lovage (careful it’s a strong celery like flavor), Parsley, Cardoon, and Celery seed.

Raw dishes: Celery seed, Fennel, Celeriac, Anise

There really is no good equivalent for raw except Fennel and Celeriac. Celery seed is OK but the seeds are a pain as they can stick in the teeth.

Celery is well available in well-stocked grocery stores, supermarkets, and natural food stores. You’ll find them usually down the vegetables section. The seeds & Celery salt will be in the spices aisle.

Celery is also easily found in specialty and gourmet food stores as well as online.

Health Benefits of Celery or Benefits of Ajmud

Different parts of the Shalari plant are recommended for treating different conditions:

Here are some notable Health Benefits of Celery;

• Health Benefits of Shalari as an Antioxidant – Celery contains vitamin C, beta carotene, and flavonoids, but there are at least 12 additional kinds of antioxidant nutrients found in a single stalk.
• Health Benefits of Celery as an Anti-inflammatory – Chronic inflammation has been linked to many illnesses, including arthritis and osteoporosis. Celery and celery seeds have approximately 25 anti-inflammatory compounds that can offer protection against inflammation in the body.
• Health Benefits of Ajmud in Hyperlipidemia – Celery extract reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, in rats that consumed a high-fat diet.
• Health Benefits of Ajmud for High Blood Pressure – Some practitioners of Chinese medicine use celery and celery extracts to reduce blood pressure.
• Health Benefits of Celery as an alkalizing agent – With minerals like magnesium, iron, and sodium, celery can have a neutralizing effect on acidic foods — not to mention the fact that these minerals are necessary for essential bodily functions.
• Health Benefits of Celery for Nutrition – Celery is rich in vitamins and minerals with a low glycemic index. You’ll enjoy vitamins A, K, and C, plus minerals like potassium and folate when you eat celery. It’s also low in sodium. Plus, it’s low on the glycemic index, meaning it has a slow, steady effect on your blood sugar.