4. Blanch It
Blanching is a process that involves making the leaves of the celery plant more tender and soft. Some people prefer to blanch celery because of the texture, but blanching does take away some of the vitamins and nutrients from the celery.
Some people don’t find that blanching is worth it for this reason. Others simply don’t want to take the time to blanch it. To blanch the celery, you build a mound of dirt around the celery and over time continue to build it up around the leaves.
As the celery grows, the mound builds so that the leaves and stalks stay covered. You can also blanch it by adding cardboard to the base of the plant a few weeks before you harvest it. When it comes time to harvest the celery, it will be tender.
If you choose not to blanch the celery as it grows, you can blanch it once you harvest it and before you cook and serve it.