History of Celery

Celery is believed to have its origins in the Mediterranean region, although evidence from Switzerland's archaeological findings suggests that humans were already transporting celery seeds as far back as 4,000 B.C. The uncultivated variety of celery can be located in wetland areas across moderate Europe and Western Asia.

Homer's "Iliad" portrays the horses of Myrmidons grazing on wild celery within Troy's marshes. Similarly, the "Odyssey" mentions meadows that encompass violets and wild celery, encircling Calypso's cave.

In antiquity, celery was connected to funeral rites and held as a symbol of ill fortune. In ancient Greece, celery leaves were fashioned into garlands for the deceased and wreaths awarded to triumphant warriors. Archaeological evidence even indicates the discovery of wild celery garlands in early Egyptian tombs.

Both Egypt and Rome harnessed the medicinal potential of wild celery, often employing it as a remedy for hangovers or as an aphrodisiac. The Romans also favored wild celery leaves for crafting crowns worn by victorious athletes.

While celery's widespread cultivation likely didn't begin until the Middle Ages, historical records show it was under cultivation before 850 B.C. Celery's cultivation initiated in the lowlands of Italy before diffusing to France and England.

Around 1623, the French introduced celery as a food source. For nearly a century, its primary use was as a flavor enhancer due to the intense taste of early varieties.

During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, there were initial indications of efforts to improve the wild type of celery in Italy, France, and England.

In the 17th century, the Italians succeeded in domesticating celery as a vegetable. Over time, growers managed to diminish the bitterness and the presence of hollow stalks that were characteristic of celery during that period.

Throughout the 19th century, in the United States, England, and much of Europe, it was widely held that blanching the green edible parts of celery was essential to mitigate the excessively strong flavor and green color.
History of Celery

History of horseradish

Horseradish originated in the southern part of Russia and the eastern part of the Ukraine. It is typically considered to be a Russian medicinal plant species, for it had not been grown in other European countries for a long while.

Early records indicate that horseradish is a native of the temperate regions of Eastern Europe and western Asia, where wild types are found growing from Finland and Poland to the regions around the Caspian Sea and the desert of Cumania (now Romania) and Turkey.

In the “De Agri Cultura‟ (circa 160 BC) written by the warrior Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 BC) practical instructions for farmers are given. He described how to sow and cultivate “radish,” which was used for food or medicine by the Roman people.

Horseradish has been used for specific purposes in various cultures for at least the last 4000 years. Even 1,500 years before Christ, Egyptians knew about it, and Greeks used it against pains in the back and as an aphrodisiac.

During the Middle Ages (c. 1000-1300) horseradish began to be incorporated into the Passover Seder as one of the marror, or bitter herbs, to be used by the Jewish people.

In the 14th century, Germans started to grow it, and in the 16th century, the French and the British, who grew it only as a medicinal plant. Because of certain similarities in the taste of horseradish and radish itself, this medicinal plant used to be equalized.

During the Renaissance, horseradish consumption spread from Central Europe northward to Scandinavia and westward to England. By the late 1600s, horseradish was the standard accompaniment for beef and oysters among the British.

The English word horseradish apparently comes from the German word meerettich or ‘sea-radish’; meer (sea) was probably taken by the English to mean mähre, an old horse.

The first use of the term ‘horse radish’ was made by John Gerard in his famous English herbal (1597) that contains a lengthy entry with a woodcut and clear description of the plant.

The first valid published scientific name of horseradish which resulted from the generic name Armoracia was A. rusticana in 1800 by Gaertner, Meyer, and Scherbius: this binomial is used today.

Horseradish was introduced into the United States from Europe by early settlers in the 1600s and became popular in gardens in the New England states by the early 1800s.

In the mid-1800s, immigrants living in northeastern Illinois planted horseradish with the intention of selling the roots on the commercial market.
History of horseradish