Yes
You all know my penchant for odd vegetables and weird food combinations. I got my toe smashed be a bowl of brussels sprouts and cabbage, for crying out loud. Which is why I find the following conversation even more amusing than it would otherwise be:
I'm standing in my friend's kitchen. I've just pulled a celery stalk from the bunch I purchased moments before at the supermarket. The rest of the bunch is lying on the table. I'm pretty stoked, because I haven't seen a celery bunch in many months. They're a highly seasonal vegetable here, apparently.
Me: (crunch. crunch.)
Friend: What are you eating?
Me: Celery.
Friend: Celery? I don't think I've ever seen that before.
Me: Really? I know I can't find it very often, but you've never had it before? Here, try a piece.
Friend (crunching thoughtfully): Ugh! It's so bitter! It's even more bitter than celery root!
Me: Well, yeah, but... it's crunchy. And, um, it's not really that bitter. I mean... it's sort of salty and tangy, too.
Friend: Are you sure you're supposed to eat it raw?
Me: Of course! This is a totally normal American snack food. You should try it with cream cheese. Or peanut butter! (pause) Oh, man, I wish I had some peanut butter.
Friend: You eat that with peanut butter? Really?? God, you Americans eat some strange things.
Upon further consideration, I understand why it isn't a very popular vegetable over here. All the celery I've encountered thus far has been painfully sub-par. The stalks are somehow the wrong density; they end up too watery and stringy, and they're really more tough than crunchy. The flavor is there. It still works as a soup additive. But I really can't blame anyone for not wanting it on their veggie platter.
I'm standing in my friend's kitchen. I've just pulled a celery stalk from the bunch I purchased moments before at the supermarket. The rest of the bunch is lying on the table. I'm pretty stoked, because I haven't seen a celery bunch in many months. They're a highly seasonal vegetable here, apparently.
Me: (crunch. crunch.)
Friend: What are you eating?
Me: Celery.
Friend: Celery? I don't think I've ever seen that before.
Me: Really? I know I can't find it very often, but you've never had it before? Here, try a piece.
Friend (crunching thoughtfully): Ugh! It's so bitter! It's even more bitter than celery root!
Me: Well, yeah, but... it's crunchy. And, um, it's not really that bitter. I mean... it's sort of salty and tangy, too.
Friend: Are you sure you're supposed to eat it raw?
Me: Of course! This is a totally normal American snack food. You should try it with cream cheese. Or peanut butter! (pause) Oh, man, I wish I had some peanut butter.
Friend: You eat that with peanut butter? Really?? God, you Americans eat some strange things.
Upon further consideration, I understand why it isn't a very popular vegetable over here. All the celery I've encountered thus far has been painfully sub-par. The stalks are somehow the wrong density; they end up too watery and stringy, and they're really more tough than crunchy. The flavor is there. It still works as a soup additive. But I really can't blame anyone for not wanting it on their veggie platter.