Celery salt is a
seasoned salt used to flavour food. The primary ingredient is
table salt and the flavouring agent is ground seeds from
celery
Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, ...
or its relative
lovage.
It is also sometimes produced using dried celery or seed
oleoresin.
Additives
Celery salt normally contains an
anticaking agent such as
silicon dioxide
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
[ or ]calcium silicate
Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO2. It is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. It occurs naturally as the mineral larnite ...
.[
As a vegetable, celery seeds have potassium as the dominant ion over sodium (ninefold more).
]
Uses
Celery salt is an ingredient of the Bloody Mary cocktail and the Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
cocktail. It is also reported to be an ingredient in KFC's secret spice mix. It is also commonly used to season the Chicago-style hot dog, the New York System wiener, salads, coleslaw and stews. It is a primary ingredient in Old Bay brand seasoning.
Because sodium nitrate, a chemical that serves as a food preservative, occurs naturally in celery, celery salt is often used by food producers to prevent spoilage while avoiding listing sodium nitrate on the ingredients list directly.
See also
* Celery powder Celery powder is a dried, ground concentrate prepared from fresh celery that is used as a seasoning and as a food preservative in organic meat products. Several commercial preparations exist, and it can also be made using a food dehydrator. Some ce ...
* List of edible salts
References
Edible salt
Celery
{{Condiment-stub