Victorian Era Celery Soup Recipe.
Soup! Wonderful, nourishing soup!
I enjoy cream of celery soup, but have yet to make a truly appetizing plain celery soup. Tried a recipe from Mrs. Beeton’s a year or so ago, but evidently didn’t post it so must not have been anything special and followed the same principles above.
Recommend omitting the mace and substituting for a *pinch* of cayenne.
Symbolic Importance of Celery.
Like today’s avocado toast, celery was something of a luxury vegetable back in the Victorian Era. Cultivating celery is tricky and something of a hassle. The growing conditions have to be absolutely perfect: water, soil, sun, shade. As such, celery was right up there with pineapples as a luxury food item. In fact, you even needed a special vase, a celery vase, to showcase your celery in public when dining.
Today, you can find period celery vases at flea markets and thrift stores for anywhere from $5-$30 USD. Why so cheap? Most people don’t know what they are. Celery vases are not your typical flower vase; rather these vases, or celery holders as they’re sometimes called, tend to be squat and broad to hold up the head of celery. They are also heavy-duty with thick glass, more like dishware, not your typical delicate vase.
This week we celebrate National Soup Day (February 4). But it’s February. And it’s soup. So I’m posting a soup recipe for each day of the week!
Source: In the Kitchen, 1875.
Convivial Supper 
For some strange unknown reason (other than not being awake)
I glanced at the title and thought it read, “Eat Celery Soup.”
To which I will now remark, ” MAKE ME” 😉
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It’s not THAT bad, honest – just kind of meh…
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A Southern cook with excellent skills once told me that she thought celery much “underrated.” That inspired my own blogpost on the subject. I love the idea of the celery vase. My favorite movie scene involving celery is at the dining table in the “The Bishop’s Wife” (original version).
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Okay, I’ll bite. Added ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ to my watch list -1940s romantic comedy with Cary Grant? Who doesn’t like a tall, dark, handsome gentleman – and a movie scene involving celery? 🙂
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It’s always on our Christmas watch list.
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😊
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