Celery seed
SEL-er-ee seed
Apium graveolens
Savory, grassy, bitter, concentrated celery.
What it is
Celery seed is the tiny dried seed of Apium graveolens, a wild relative of the celery and celeriac grown for stalks and roots, and it tastes like celery concentrated many times over: savory, grassy, and distinctly bitter. A pinch carries a lot of flavor, which makes it valuable in pickling brines, coleslaw, dressings, and spice blends like the one behind a classic Bloody Mary or a seafood boil. It is the celery note in many savory salts and rubs. Because it is so concentrated and bitter, it is always used sparingly.
What it pairs with
Goes wrong with: delicate dishes; it is intense and bitter.
Common in Middle Eastern, French cooking.
Whole vs ground
The tiny brown seeds are used whole or lightly crushed. They are potent, so a pinch does the work of a whole stalk of celery, and too much turns bitter.
How to handle it
Add a small pinch to brines, dressings, and slaws, or to spice blends. Crushing releases more flavor; use a light hand.
Storage
Airtight and dark. Whole seeds keep their flavor for over a year.
Buying note
A little goes a long way, so buy small. The seeds should smell strongly of celery.
Classic dishes
coleslaw, pickling brine, celery salt, potato salad.
Out of celery seed? Substitutes
No substitute is exact. These are the closest by flavor behavior, with the ratio to start from and how the result will differ.
| Use instead | Ratio | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| celery salt, adjusting the salt down | to taste | same celery note plus salt, so reduce other salt |
| finely chopped celery leaves | use more | fresher and milder, adds moisture |
One odd thing
Celery seed comes from a wild ancestor of table celery and tastes like celery turned up many times over.