TikToker themonticarlo (@themonticarlo) recently posted a hack to reduce waste and save money in your kitchen. This video shows users how to easily revive wilted celery and avoid throwing it away.
The Scoop
"Wilted celery's still a keeper", writes the poster.
@themonticarlo Wilted celery's still a keeper! Here's how to bring it back to life! 💪 More tips: ✨Always clean veggies well before storing in water. ✨The more wilted the celery, the longer it will take to revive. ✨Don't store celery in water for more than a day or two- it will get mushy. ✨If you're running short on time, just trim the celery ends and refrigerate the trimmed stalks in ice water in an airtight container for an hour. #celery #foodwaste #foodwastewarriors #ecofriendlykitchen #ecofriendly #kitchenhacks #produce #foodstorage ♬ original sound - themonticarlo
All you will need to pull off this hack is a mason jar and water.
First, remove the root of the wilted celery by cutting it off with a knife. It is possible to do this without breaking the stalk into multiple pieces.
Second, find a receptacle tall enough to contain most of the celery. The creator behind the video uses a mason jar, but any mid-size container should do just fine.
Then just fill up your container of choice with water and put your wilted celery in. Leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours, and the stalks should stiffen up to be just like new!
This hack works because the perkiness of the celery is determined by its water content. Celery that is wilting or limp has lost too much water to remain firm.
Luckily, the skin of celery is permeable, meaning that water will naturally flow through it and fill the stalk to capacity. This happens through osmosis, which is the process of water flowing through a permeable barrier from an area of higher water concentration to lower.
How it's helping
Being able to save celery instead of throwing it away saves on trips to the grocery store and the money spent there. It could also mean the difference between strong, supple celery in your food versus limp and unappetizing vegetables.
Furthermore, any effort to reduce food waste is valuable to the environment. Globally 1.4 billion tons of food — one-third of all the food produced — is lost or wasted every year, according to OzHarvest. Being able to revitalize staple foods instead of throwing them out can help bring that number down.
What everyone's saying
Commenters were delighted and intrigued by this new money-saving technique.
One user commented: "Game changer!!!"
One rueful commenter said: "I wish I would have seen this video yesterday. Thanks for the tip! It'll save my next bunch."
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