Fenland Celery PGI 2013 is one of those Marmite foods, my wife hates it but I love it, washed, shake dry and a bit of Angelsey Sea salt, simply delicious. I even tried growing some last year but the slugs had the lions share, I’ll just buy it this season.
Fenland Celery is a bit special, in Victorian times it was grown solely for the London Christmas Market and sold in New Covent Garden. Growing technics haven’t changed much from that time, it’s planted in wide rows or trenches. As it the grows the rich Fenland soil is earthed up around the stem keeping it warm and dark. This allows the stems to blanch producing the pale white sticks of celery with a distinctive nutty taste and protect it from the frost.
The Celery is grown through the summer and is available from October to the end of December, just 8 short weeks. Farming of this heritage crop was revived in the 2000s and Fenland Celery is now favorite ingredients for some of the UKs top chefs.
It quite easy to spot in the shops and markets as it carries more leaf and the bottom root is carved to a point. Unknown to my wife I add it to sauces, gravy and casseroles. It’s also delicious braised in white wine with cream or in salads, but I doubt I’d get away with that.
More info here