Upcoming Monday Munches feature deliciously tempting summer offerings: couscous, Italian pasta salad, strawberries, blueberries and watermelon. In contrast to this scrumptious bounty, let’s take a look at that overlooked kitchen staple: celery, the unannounced presence in many meals.
Pascal celery was first cultivated in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1874, with corporate impresarios of the day organizing handouts of free stalks at the train station. Around town, celery boys stood next to paper boys on street corners, pushing their wares. An urban legend circulated that young men in Kalamazoo offered their dates celery stalks topped with a ribbon.
Japanese immigrants introduced celery in the Salinas Valley in 1911, and now California is the source of 95 percent of the nation’s supply.
Kalamazoo, once known as “Celery City,” now offers the Portage Creek Bicentennial Park with a guided tour explaining the history of celery in the region. The Michigan Celery Cooperative wants us to know they produce an annual crop worth about $20 million…