Sweet Celery

I don't try to keep it a secret.  I love celery.  It's been about a 2 year love affair and things are still going strong.  My favorite way to eat it currently is chopped in small pieces and I pop it like candy!
Celery and I did have a rough patch, though.  Last summer I realized that celery is on the Dirty Dozen of produce, and I also read an article stating that celery is one of the absolute worst veggies to eat if it is not organically grown because it holds on to all of the pesticides and other nastiness.  Makes sense if you think about how celery is basically just a stem, sucking up all of the chemicals and what-not.


So, I started buying organic celery.  But, to me, the taste of organic celery seemed a bit bitter and strong.  I guess I like chemicals :/  Several times I would be so looking forward to my favorite healthy treat and then disappointed and even grossed out by the taste.  It got me thinking...how can I fix this?
One of my most favorite easy yet fun science projects is to take a celery stalk and place it in water that has a few drops of food coloring in it.  Ezra and I did this a few summers ago when he first started learning about plants.  So, how does this relate to my celery dilemma?  I decided to do another science experiment.  I washed a few stalks, cut off the ends, and placed them in water (sans food coloring).  I placed it in the fridge, gave it 24 hours to suck up the water, and gave it a try.  


The result?
To me, the celery tastes less bitter and it definitely is more plump.  Maybe this is a kitchen tip that I should have known any way, but I kinda think I invented it ;)
Happy celery eating, friends!