Reference point
Crush a celery leaf and smell it at once.
Do this before you read on. An entry only works when you have just smelled the thing.
Green, savoury, with a clear damp-earth note under the green. It reads closer to a root than to a leaf.
The savoury note is its signature. No other kitchen herb gives an impression of saltiness from smell alone, and that is why celery sweetens a stock without anything else being added.
The earthy layer underneath links it to the earthy family, and it is one of the few entries that stands between two families.
How to smell it
Crush a leaf and smell. Then snap a piece of stalk and smell the break — the stalk is noticeably stronger than the leaf, the reverse of most herbs.
Why this one is hard
Because the savoury note is not a smell but an association. The brain reads this group of compounds as salty from eating experience, which makes it hard to describe in the language of smell.
Don’t confuse with
This entry
Celery leaf
Green family
Celery is savoury and earthy; culantro is dense with aldehydes and has a leafy note. Celery sweetens a stock; culantro does not.
Scientific note
Celery contains phthalides, especially sedanolide and 3-butylphthalide. This group of compounds is found almost only in the carrot family (Apiaceae) and hardly anywhere else. They are also the source of the umami impression celery brings to a stock.
In Vietnamese life
Celery came into Vietnamese cooking by way of French cuisine and is now an essential ingredient in the beef pho broth of many southern restaurants. It is also an example of an introduced ingredient that has become fully local.