Rain has now started to be a permanent visitor, along with some nice sunny days that encourage growth and brighten the field. This week I’d like to write about a permanent winter guest who is delighted by the moisture that enables him to joyfully fatten up. You’ve seen (and nibbled) the results before your very eyes: it’s celery!
Its name carries the exotic origins of the French “céleri,” derived from the Greek “Selinon,” of the Apiaceae family. In Hebrew, its official name karpas reached Hebrew from the Aramaic, which borrowed it from the Greek word karpas meaning “fruit of the earth,” i.e., vegetable. It is no coincidence that karpas may also remind you of lavish fabric (as used in the Book of Esther to describe the décor of King Ahasuerus’ castle), for karpas is evidently related to a fine green-hued cloth.
Karpas (celery) belongs to the botanical Umbels family, in which all parts of the vegetable are edible: the round root, its crunchy stalk, the nutritious leaves and its teensy, tiny seeds. Today, we will primarily discuss leaf celery.