Here’s all you need to know about the shelf life and spoilage of celery. Learn how long celery lasts and how to tell if one is spoiled.
Bought celery and wondering how long until the veggie goes bad? That makes you wonder: how long is celery good for?
Or maybe yours already sits in storage for a week or so and, after a quick glance, you’re not quite sure it’s safe to eat. So, how do you tell if celery is bad?
If either of these sounds familiar, you’re in the right place. Here’s what we cover below:
- the shelf life of celery, including cooked and cut celery
- signs that your celery is spoiled
- basics on storing celery at home
Interested? Read on.
Table of Contents
- How Long Does Celery Last?
- How to Tell if Celery Is Bad?
- How to Store Celery?
- Celery Shelf Life and Spoilage Summary
How Long Does Celery Last?
| Counter | Fridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Celery | 2 – 3 days | 1 – 2 weeks |
| Cut-up celery | 4 – 7 days | |
| Prepackaged celery sticks | Use-by + 3 to 4 days | |
| Cooked celery | 3- 4 days |
Fresh celery lasts 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge and only 2 to 3 days if you leave it at room temperature. Once you cut it up, cut celery keeps for four days to a week, depending on whether it just sits sealed in the fridge or is submerged in water.
The storage time depends on how fresh the veggie is and how exactly you store it. You can keep celery a bit longer with better storage conditions (more on that later).
Of course, if you’re buying packaged celery or celery sticks, the bags they come in usually have a use-by date printed. Those dates are pretty good indicators of storage time, and you shouldn’t expect the celery to retain quality for longer than a couple of days past those dates.
If those periods aren’t enough for your needs, you can freeze celery. The only downside is that celery stalks soften after defrosting and are best used in smoothies and cooked dishes.
(As you can tell, the shelf life of celery is quite similar to how long leeks last.)
After Cooking
Cooked celery lasts 3 to 4 days when sealed tightly in an airtight container or lidded pot in the fridge. Let the cooked veggie cool to about room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator, but limit the cooling period to 2 hours or less.
If you’re cooking celery in bulk, prepare enough for up to four days, or freeze the rest if you cooked more.
How to Tell if Celery Is Bad?
Discard celery if:
- It’s mushy, slimy, or too soft. Celery doesn’t go from crisp to slimy instantly – there’s a spectrum. It’s okay to use a slightly softer and somewhat wilted one as long as you’re okay with its quality. But once it becomes slimy, it’s game over.
- The leaves or stalks grow mold. That usually happens when there’s too much moisture around. As usual with mold, toss that celery.
- It’s cooked and stored for more than four days. You shouldn’t store cooked leftovers for more than four days because they’re no longer safe to eat. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re spoiled, but you never know.
If anything else that’s iffy shows up on your radar, trust your instinct and toss the veggie. Better safe than sorry.
Like most veggies, celery stalks might have some damaged, bruised, discolored, or woody areas, and that’s okay. You simply cut them out or peel them off during prep and never worry about them again.
You can revive limp celery that’s otherwise fine. Cut it into sticks and place it in ice-cold water for 30 minutes to regain some of its crispness.
Next, let’s talk about color. Fresh, crisp stalks are usually light green and full of color, while older ones lose some of that color and look a bit pale.
That said, the firmness of the celery stalk (or rib) is the primary indicator of quality, and checking its color is only a helpful heuristic.
Choose different dishes based on the quality of your celery. While a crisp stalk works in all possible uses, an old bendable one is best used in cooked dishes or smoothies. In those uses, you can hardly tell the difference between super fresh celery and one that’s running out of time.
How to Store Celery?
Main article: How to store celery?
The easiest way to store celery is to keep it in a ventilated bag in the crisper drawer. It might not be optimal, but it’s good enough for the veggie to last more than a week.
An important thing to remember is that celery is sensitive to ethylene, and you should store it away from any ethylene-producing fruits and veggies because of that. Otherwise, it might go overripe quicker than you’d like.
The above means that you probably shouldn’t keep bananas, apples, pears, or any other ethylene producers in the crisper, as celery definitely isn’t the only veggie sensitive to this gas.
For cut celery, you can store it in an airtight container or bag, or keep it submerged in water for a couple of extra days of storage. Make sure you change the water every other day, though.
But no matter which option you choose, keep cut-up celery refrigerated.
Celery Shelf Life and Spoilage Summary
Thank you for reading this short guide on celery. Let’s briefly recap what we’ve covered above:
- How long does celery last? Celery keeps for 2 to 3 days at room temperature and 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge. After cutting, it keeps between 4 and 7 days, depending on the storage method. Cooked celery lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- How to tell if celery is bad? Celery becomes soft and bendable over time. Discard it if it gets to the point that it’s mushy, slimy, or way too soft for your needs. Do the same if the leaves start to grow mold, the celery is cooked and stored for more than four days, or shows any other obvious signs of spoilage.
