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    Home » Recipes » Ramblings

    A Stalk of Celery vs a Rib of Celery?

    Published: Mar 5, 2020 · Modified: Mar 16, 2023 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 23 Comments

    A stalk of celery and a rib of celery

    Your recipe calls for a stalk of celery. Do you mean a rib, or the entire stalk?

    Wait - what? A stalk and a rib of celery aren’t the same thing?

    I thought a bunch of celery was, well, a bunch. And that a stalk was one stick of celery from the bunch. Turns out, the entire bunch of celery is actually the celery stalk, and a single stick from that stalk is called a rib.

    I assumed - no, I knew, with absolute certainty - that a stalk of celery and a rib of celery are the same thing. And they're not, if you talk to a botanist, or maybe a farmer.

    But every recipe almost every recipe I've read refers to a single rib of celery as a stalk. What's going on?

    Stalk of Celery vs Rib of Celery

    When a recipe calls for a stalk of celery, it's asking for one rib, not the whole head of celery. What's going on is language drift. At some point, the recipe definition of "stalk" diverged from the botanical definition. Sure, pedants will say "but the stalk is the entire bunch!", and they'll be technically correct1, but if a recipe calls for a stalk of celery, don't cut up the entire head and add it to the pot.

    Do what I mean, not what I say

    When I say “1 stalk of celery, minced”, I mean a single rib. If that bothers you, I’m sorry…but that's what the recipe means.

    When I ask for a stalk of celery, this is how much I want you to use.

    What do you think?

    Questions? Leave them in the comments section below. (But, Walls of Text about the death of meaning or the corruption of English will be ignored.)

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    1. The best kind of correct. ↩

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    Comments

    1. Kathy McMillin says

      January 15, 2023 at 3:33 pm

      From a 5th generation celery farmer: A rib of celery and a stick are the same thing. Often receipes will ask for a stalk and rib which causes alot of confusion but they are just using the terms interchangeably. Stalk is the whole plant.

      Reply
    2. Cindy Bordeaux says

      October 27, 2022 at 2:07 pm

      A rib of celery is one piece, as I was taught in the 60’s. Even the food network says and prints it as stalk. I’ll have to pay closer attention to ATK. They usually get terms correct.

      Reply
    3. Sam says

      October 16, 2022 at 5:27 pm

      I have been using a whole “bunch” of celery every. time. a recipe has called for a “stalk” even if it called for 2 stalks! I would use 2 whole bunches of celery! 😂 LOL I do looove celery though so it’s never bothered me. It’s cheap and low in calories, and adds some chunkyness to soups/stews/and even dips! I finally decided to google the difference, came across this post and can’t stop laughing! Lol

      Reply
    4. Susan says

      September 04, 2022 at 7:05 pm

      This article made me laugh so much! I am not a big fan of celery, so I use very little of it when called for in recipes. So, to clarify- stalk, bunch or head mean the whole thing. Rib, branch or piece mean one part. Now, to me, stick always meant one piece that was cut. Think of celery and carrots cut and sold at the grocery store in a plastic container. Carrot and Celery Sticks, $2.99!

      Reply
    5. Andy Lord says

      July 27, 2022 at 9:52 pm

      Mike, it is a stretch to call your insistence on using the wrong term for a particular piece of food a "writing style." If I drive the wrong way down a one way street, that's not my "driving style." It is just a mistake.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        July 30, 2022 at 8:25 am

        When it comes to grammar, I’m a descriptivist, not a prescriptivist. I believe language changes with usage, and this is a case where it feels like the language is changing.

        Reply
    6. Brenda Brown says

      May 12, 2022 at 6:37 pm

      My Ball canning book calls for 2 stalks of celery in chicken stock. I wasn't sure about this. It seemed like 2 whole stalks was just a bit much.
      Glad you straightened that out for me.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        May 13, 2022 at 8:57 am

        You're welcome!

        Reply
        • Henry Wilhoit says

          June 25, 2022 at 10:56 pm

          I don’t know how others feel, but my f F ruling on the subject I’d say it right. If a stalk is a bunch and a rib is one then that’s what you should. I’m traditionalist. What’s right is right. I’m 70 years old and right is how I was taught. Hank London Amy.

          Reply
    7. phoebe says

      September 29, 2021 at 6:53 pm

      I was brought to believe that a complete celery plant was a 'head' of celery, and one branch was known as a 'stick'. As you get older, the world gets more complicated . . .

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        September 30, 2021 at 8:33 am

        I know, right?

        Reply
    8. Mary Arebalos says

      April 01, 2021 at 8:51 pm

      I've been cooking for decades and with lots of celery, but had to Google what a rib of celery was...js...I can't be the only person who uses lots of celery in dishes I cook that didn't know a stalk was a rib!!

      Reply
    9. Nkiru Philips says

      March 24, 2021 at 1:16 am

      Honetly I thank you from the bottom of my heart because I have been searching for this online through several recipes and last time I used too much celery

      Reply
    10. Stephan says

      February 11, 2021 at 5:19 pm

      What happens when a recipe calls for both a stalk AND a rib of celery?

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        February 12, 2021 at 9:07 am

        Ha! Good luck with that one - I guess you'll have to use your own best judgement. Me? I can't think of why a recipe would use a single rib and an then an entire stalk, so I assume they meant "rib" both times.

        Reply
    11. David says

      November 21, 2020 at 12:07 pm

      Just wondering this because a recipe I was looking at said:
      2 stalks celery, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

      I was like, wait, two celery ribs won’t make up a cup and a half, a d two celery bunches would be too much.

      Can recipes just please include a volume or weight suggestion!

      Reply
      • Saro says

        January 13, 2021 at 5:01 am

        That’s nice.
        In fact, I am not a person who consume this celery and that’s not a Vege that you can find in a typical Indians house though.
        Happened to enroll for a total body detoxing where they ask us to juice the fruits and veges when I came across this ingredient part.
        It says, 2 stalks of celery. Yes, you read it right.
        When I went to the supermarket, they are selling a single stalk @ a bunch of it. And they labeled it as One Stalk of Celery.
        When the menu asked for 2 stalks, can you imagine what went through my mind? I would be a complete idiot if to use the 2 bunches of the celery.
        So, there goes the googling. Hahaha.
        Ended up use 2 ribs for the purpose. Good write up. This might help many out there who struggles with such language errors .
        But, the celery mixed with cucumber + ginger and lemon was not bad. Quite tasty and I loved it.

        Reply
    12. Lyndsie Flores says

      October 14, 2020 at 8:09 pm

      I just want to thank you because I have been searching for this online through several recipes and last time I used WAY too much celery 🤣

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        October 14, 2020 at 8:11 pm

        You’re welcome!

        Reply
    13. Jane Snow says

      March 07, 2020 at 2:19 pm

      Mike, I think you have read a few of my recipes over the years in which I always referred to a piece of celery as a “rib.” I think. And don’t get me started on pimiento vs pimento cheese.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        March 09, 2020 at 2:15 pm

        I’m sure I did - but obviously I wasn’t paying enough attention. 🙂

        Reply
    14. Samina says

      March 05, 2020 at 3:10 pm

      I thought a rib & a stalk were the same thing, too. Never dwelled on it, but I'm glad you clarified. Apropos of nothing, James Howe's Bunicula & its sequel, The Celery Stalks at Midnight were among my brother's favorite books when he was a kid. I still can't see a reference to celery without thinking of that book.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        March 05, 2020 at 5:53 pm

        Bunnicula! There’s a memory from way back...

        Reply

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