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Not exactly prizewinning, but it trundles on & tastes good!

I'm going to grow celeriac for the first time this year tim - this is encouraging! Is celeriac a swollen stem or a root, do you know? Love these pics  ;D

Stem

Look great to me Tim, we love celeriac since we started to holiday in France. Hope mine get to a better size next year than last!

:)

Never grown it and never tasted it but it looks so interesting I'll have to try a few!

Might have to buy one from the supermarket so I can see if I like the taste (no point growing anything you don't like!).

How would you normally cook it and what would you serve celeriac with?

Every whichway!!

Mash with potatoes/soups & stews/roast or mashed with root veg/raw in salad/chips & crisps/smoked salmon rémoulade/ etc...............or, my favourite, http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/celeriac06.jpg

Is it time to sow celeriac this month? ???

Emma kows better than I do - I sowed in plugs in mid-April.

Supersprout,

Try a search on celeriac, as this was a popular thread a while back.
I have started some off in a seedtray and will do some in modules later this month,
Last year was my first attempt at growing this veg and the plants looked very healthy
with lots of leaves, but there was no celeriac when I dug them up!
This year I am trying some early as apparently they need a long season and are
moisture loving plants.

Good luck with yours!!

Debs

How DO they grow it commercially to 5+" across, with almost no roots & really clean??

I sowed mine in little cells about 3 weeks ago and they germinated very very quickly.  They will be moving from the conservatory out into the lightly heated greenhouse tomorrow.

Don't know Tim...I wonder if they grow them in fluffy leafmould type compost rather than in the ground, with heat and under lights maybe....can't imagine it, but I have seen them like huge gnarled footballs!  Have to say, I prefer the smaller more delicate celeriac, much more kitchen friendly!  ;D

what does it taste like? Anything like cooked celery or totally different?

moonbells

Moonbells! I would say that it has the same taste as cooked celery but milder and obviously a different texture. I can't STAND celery myself but LOVE celeriac ... but then I'm a contrary madam anyway  ;D

My favourite is mashed with carrots & potato or grated raw mixed with mayonnaise and black pepper.

SNAP with trixiebelle - I wouldn't give celery the time of day (except as an ingredient in stockmaking) but LOVE celeriac, raw and grated in celeri-remoulade, or cooked in all sorts of ways, from chips to soup. And yet they both taste similar - I think it must be something to do with the texture. Funny old world ;)

Supersprout: I have to disagree with you SLIGHTLY here!

A bunch of celery (wearing hooded tops) passed me on the way to Kwiksave the other day and asked me time. I told them ... it was 4:12pm. I don't like to discriminate when it comes to asking the time, even if it IS celery.

Trixie X

P.S. I draw the line at broad beans though.

I will Mend my Ways trixiebelle  :-[ ;D ;D ;D

Adrianhumph grew a beauty last year variety 'brillliant'.
Here's the info he gave about growing:


"I followed the first class instructions in Sue Stricklands article in January`s Kitchen garden magazine . Basically you must sow early, by mid March, they must be kept frost free, & not put out until the end of May. They need fertile soil enriched with manure or compost & they need LOTS of water through the season. I also grew mine under enviromesh to prevent carrot fly infestation".

I shall be trying this variety and will grow some this weekend in modules.

Debs

Well, spurred on by your good selves,  while on my travels this weekend I purchased a small celeriac.

I shall now attempt to eat it! Thanks, any further comments will be in Recipes :-)

moonbells

i remember having celariac years ago when i was a kid in a restaurant, so a couple of weeks ago we tried it, yummy, so now i'm growing it, check out jamie olivers recipe for it, with tyme and garlic, nice! :)