Homemade Celery Salt
Homemade celery salt couldn't be easier to make. I keep a bottomless jar of it on hand and use it on just about everything - eggs, soups, salads. It's hard to go wrong with it.
A number of you requested I post about making homemade celery salt. It's great. I mean it. You should make it too. If you make some each time you buy a bunch of celery, you end up with a bottomless jar of celery-spiked salt. And this way, minimal celery parts go to waste, except the celery strings - my suspicion is there won't be many tears shed over that.
How to Use Homemade Celery Salt
So many ways! Celery salt is good on buttered corn-on-the cob, green beans, in soups, in yogurt, sprinkled over eggs. It's great on things like macaroni salad, or egg salad, this shaved fennel salad, or this buttermilk farro salad. I bet it'd be great on Sara's Green bean salad, or Deb's Israeli salad. You get the idea.
The Key to Buying the Right Celery
Here's the catch. You have to find celery with leaves still intact. You'll likely have more luck at farmers' markets, but I've noticed more and more grocers sparing celery leaves from the trash. Also, leaves hide. You'll find more and more as you work your way from outside stalks to inside ones.
I make other salts on occasion too - a citrus salt version comes to mind. Also, one with herbs de Provence. Have fun experimenting!
More Homemade Spice Blends
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Homemade Celery Salt
I've made celery salt with a number of different types of salt, and the flaky, whispers of Maldon sea salt is my current favorite. The shards are similar in size to the crumbled celery leaves, which works nicely. With some of the finer sea salts, you get more separation. Which is not what you want.
- Leaves from one bunch of celery
- flaky sea salt (see head notes)
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Pick the leaves from each celery stalk, leaving the stems behind. The outer leaves tend to be dark green and hearty, the inner leaves pale green and tender. I use them all.
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Rinse the leaves with cold water in a strainer, then shake off as much of the water as you can. At this point you want to dry the leaves as much as possible, so they toast (not steam) when you cook them. Gently pat them dry in a clean dish towel, or paper towels. Once dry you have two options for toasting the leaves.
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If I have a lot of leaves, I arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then bake in a 350F / 180C oven for about 5-7 minutes. Bake until dehydrated and crispy, but not browned.
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If I have fewer leaves, or just don't feel like heating the oven, I'll throw them in a large skillet. Single layer if possible, over medium-low heat. Again, you want to barely toast them, not brown the leaves much.
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In either case, when you're done cooking. Remove from heat and let the leaves cool completely. They'll crisp up even more at this point. When cool, use your fingers to crumble the leaves completely, discarding any leaves that aren't crispy.
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Combine equal parts celery leaves and salt in a jar, and either stir or shake to distribute the celery leaves evenly throughout.
Roughly 1 cup. But yield depends on the amount of leaves.
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Comments
Once again you've inspired me to go the home-made route and make my own salts. I'm immediately thinking chile and lime would be divine or a savory and sweet ginger/lemongrass salt. Thanks Heidi.
Wow-cool idea!
Love this. What a great idea!
Such a neat idea. I normally just cook with kosher salt, but homemade celery salt is a compelling alternative, especially for finishing dishes. Would make a unique gift, too. Thanks, Heidi!
That should have read "Maldon"
Hi, Thanks for this. It looks great. I will add it to my new collection of home made flavoured salts. I made some with Provencal flavourings - Maldom Salt (I live in the UK), chopped fresh thyme, rosemary and lavender and also some with chopped and crushed chipotle chilis.
All I need now is some vodka, tomato juice, you can see were this is going , nice idea, thanks.
Celery salt is something I never thought could be made at home, but I will definitely give this a try! I never buy celery because I don't like spending money on an item I hardly use, but knowing I can make this out of something I usually throw away gives a whole new perspective, and I'm sure I'll find lots of new things to sprinkle it on; thanks for the suggestions and the recipe!
This is awesome! I had never even thought to make this myself. I'm all over this now. Thank you!!
What a cool recipe!! I had no idea you could actually MAKE celery salt at home from scratch. Can't wait to try this soon! :)
I never would have thought of this, but it sounds like a small detail that makes a small (or big) dish so much nicer. I also love the idea of having a bottomless celery salt jar that keeps on feeding and growing - how fun! Once again, great idea! Thanks for sharing this.
Very clever. I love that it's made with sea salt because commercial celery salt isn't. Thank you for sharing how it's made.
I love the idea of making my own salts! Sounds great Heidi.
Wow - amazing! I love these sort of everyday useful, storecupboard recipes :)
This looks so easy and tasty! I can't wait to try it! :)
lime salt is great sprinkled over a bowl of chili. . wasabi salt is amazing on tempura. . matcha salt and creamy eggs are a match made in heaven! . also a fan of lavender salt, ume salt, and sage salt. . just made a fresh bottle of lemon salt. next up: celery salt and chive salt!
I've made lime and green tea salt. Put green tea, lime zest and kosher or sea salt into mortar & pestle, grind or pound until finely crumbled (powdery) & mixed. Spread on sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper & put in a low oven about 1 hour to dry. It's great sprinkled on sea scallops before cooking, then making a sauce adding white wine and lime juice to get all the crusty bits out of the pan. It stores well if completely dried.
Thanks! Celery salt is the "secret" ingredient in many of my Mother's best dishes. I always thought it was made with celery seed.
Brilliant! I'm on it! NOW. Okay, not now. Tomorrow? Soon, I'm on it SOON!
I'm pretty sure I'll never make celery salt, but because of your blog, I did cook myself a meal tonite instead of eating take-out! Thanks for all the inspiration, Heidi!