The Right Way to Store Celery So It Stays Fresh and Crisp

Here's how to keep this vegetable at its prime for crudités, salad, or garnishing a Bloody Mary.

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Celery is fresh and crisp, ideal as a snack or garnish, but it requires proper storage to maintain its appealing crunch. If not stored correctly, celery can turn limp and lose its flavor and texture. This guide provides expert advice on how to keep celery crisp and flavorful, along with storage methods to avoid—especially if you prefer your celery crunchy in dishes like tuna salad sandwiches or a Bloody Mary.

How to Store Celery

When you bring your head of celery—or smaller-sized celery hearts—home from the grocery store, don't let it linger on the kitchen counter. "The best way to store celery is not to break the cold chain and make sure the temperature is maintained," says Donald Russo, senior category manager at Baldor Specialty Foods.

“The two main things to focus on are moisture and temperature. A damp, cold celery stalk will stay fresh much longer than if it were warm or if it were dry," says Riley Davies, produce category manager for online grocer Misfits Market.

Where to Store: "Storing celery in the crisper is a great start and will help maintain the moisture of the celery," says Brian Riordan, vegetable director at Taylor Farms. If your fridge has a dual-zone crisper drawer, Davies suggests placing the celery in the high-humidity zone. "That limits airflow and is ideal for green vegetables," she says.

The Foil Method

Once you open the bag, you have a few choices. "You can wrap the celery in tin foil or a damp paper towel, if the celery is already cut, to enjoy the crunchiest celery," says Riordan. If you prefer foil, wrap the vegetable tightly without sealing the ends. Foil is a good choice because it allows ethylene gas to escape (that would otherwise cause the celery to rot), while retaining moisture.

The Paper Towel Method

Wrap the celery in a damp paper towel; a single layer will suffice, says Nichole Towell, senior director of marketing at Duda Farm Fresh Foods. Note the paper towel should be damp, not soaking wet.

Before the wrapping stage, Towell rinses and cuts off the ends of the stalks. "Give it all another good wash to ensure any dust or dirt has been completely removed, then pat dry. Next, separate the celery stalk and the leaves and wrap them in a clean, damp paper towel," she says. Then, tuck it in a ziplock storage bag and seal it partially, allowing the celery to breathe.

How Long Will Celery Last?

Protected with a paper towel or foil, you can expect celery to last from two weeks to one month.

Other Storage Methods

Also, try these tactics for keeping celery crisp:

Glass: "Any method that helps retain moisture will work, but I like to treat stalks of celery as you would cut flowers," says Davies. With that in mind, she trims the cut ends of the stalks and stores them in a glass of water, root side down, in the fridge.

Jar: A similar method calls for cutting the celery into pieces and swapping the glass for a jar, ensuring that the cut ends have moisture access. The stalks can be sliced or cut any way you please, depending on how you plan to incorporate them into a dish. "The larger you leave them initially, the more versatile the end use," says Davies.

It is possible to submerge celery completely in water to ensure crunchiness. Seal it in a container with a lid, and remove from water when you are ready to eat. Whole stalks tend to retain water better than pieces, so you may want to avoid cutting it up, if you can.

How to Regrow Celery

If you do cut up the celery, you can plant the root base, which is a fun gardening project for kids. Place it in a dish of water on a sunny window ledge. Change the water every two days or so, and within 10 days, you should see small sprouts coming up. Once they are a half-inch tall, transfer to a planter with soil. Eventually, you'll have celery of your own.

What Not to Do

It may be handy to store celery in the plastic bag it is sold in, but that isn't optimal. The plastic traps ethylene, a gaseous hormone that celery (and other plant life) naturally produces, which hastens its ripening. Leaving it out of the fridge for too long can also catapult celery into flaccid territory. "When celery gets warm, it becomes flabby and rubbery," says Russo. In addition, says Towell, it can dry out. "When celery isn't stored correctly, the ends typically are the first to dry and become bitter," she explains.

How to Freeze Celery

Whether you chopped too much celery for your bread stuffing or need to empty your fridge before vacation, there may come a time when it makes sense to put the extra green in the freezer to use later. Don't freeze raw celery. Here's how to prep it for freezing:

Blanching: Blanching chopped celery or celery pieces before the deep freeze can help it retain its texture, color, and flavor.

To blanch celery:

Place it in boiling water for a few minutes.
Remove to an ice bath for 2-3 minutes.
Let drain in colander, and cool fully before freezing.

When you're ready to cook with the frozen celery, add the unthawed pieces to your recipe, since defrosting it can lead to subpar results. It's likely best to use it in recipes like soups and stews, where you want it to become soft through cooking. Still, that's not everyone's solution. For Russo, freezing celery is a hard no. He says it becomes a mush once it's thawed.