Celeriac is an ingredient we commonly find used in soups and main dishes. But with its aromatic links to strawberries, chocolate and langoustines, this knobby root vegetable is well worth considering in your appetizers and desserts!
Celeriac – Strawberry – Black Garlic
For starters, try this quick and easy dessert recipe that calls for blanching celeriac in salted water until al dente. Then simply assemble the celeriac over a Jules Destrooper Amelia—or any other type of cocoa biscuit—and top with strawberries and a dot of black garlic purée. Why does it work? Celeriac shares floral-rose aromas in common with strawberries and floral-honey notes in common with chocolate. Recipe here.
Celeriac – Langoustine – Blueberries
Celeriac is a versatile ingredient that also pairs especially well with a number of different seafood items. Enter “celeriac” in our Foodpairing® Tool, and you’ll see that it links to langoustines and pairs well with blueberries. Sounds like a great appetizer recipe to us! Care to try it? Our Ajo blanco with celeriac, langoustines and blueberries is a refreshing twist on the Spanish classic. All you have to do is sauté the celeriac with a dash of water and season lightly with salt and pepper. Recipe here.
Aroma profile of celeriac
Have you ever wondered why celeriac can be paired with so many different ingredients? This humble root vegetable may not have a very complex aroma profile but it certainly has an interesting one, which explains why celeriac complements so many different ingredients. Learn about the science behind Foodpairing.
“A fair portion of celeriac’s aroma molecules possess a mint-like scent, providing links to: blackberries, grapefruit, guava, kiwi, beets, basil, dill, mint, fennel, sage and rosemary.”
It’s no wonder that celeriac is often described as tasting similar to—you guessed it—celery. In fact, 70% of its aroma profile are determined by molecules that smell similar to celery. However, the remaining 30% of its aroma molecules are what enable us to pair celeriac with a number of other ingredients.
Mint – Orange Aromas
You’ll see in the Aroma Wheel above that a fair portion of celeriac’s aroma molecules possess a mint-like scent, providing links to: blackberries, grapefruit, guava, kiwi, beets, basil, dill, mint, fennel, sage and rosemary. We also find orange-scented notes, which share links with apples, bananas, blueberries, cherries, avocado, mascarpone, caraway seeds, brioche, bacon, chicken and grey mullet.
Rose – Honey – Popcorn Aromas
Celeriac’s floral-rose aromas pair well with apples, pears, raspberries, melon, watermelon, butternut squash, quinoa, kamut, beer, rum, skate wings and elderflower. On the honey-scented end of the aromatic spectrum, we find links to fava beans, perilla leaves, almond thins, peanut butter, tahini, Parmigiano-Reggiano, blue cheese, Korean doenjang, black garlic and duck. There are also popcorn-scented notes that allow us to pair celeriac with cashew nuts, brown rice, freekeh, Camembert, quail, wild boar, shrimp and cuttlefish.
Vanilla – Roasted Aromas
Cooking celeriac brings out its vanilla and roasted notes. Try serving it with coconut, cake, asparagus, Bayonne ham, crawfish, soy sauce and douchi or Chinese fermented black beans, and you’ll see just what we mean.
But don’t mistake celeriac for celery! A quick look at celery’s aroma profile reveals that its leafy green stalks contain more green, fruity-peach and pineapple aromas than celeriac.
With so many ingredient options to choose from, what are you waiting for? Get started creating your own celeriac-inspired recipes now using our Foodpairing® Tool. Simply enter the keyword “celeriac,” and we’ll help you figure out the rest of the complementary ingredient pairings to make your recipe a success!
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