Interestingly, this is what Wikipedia says about celery:

[conuly]

Celery is amongst a small group of foods (headed by peanuts) that appear to provoke the most severe allergic reactions; for people with celery allergy, exposure can cause potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.... In contrast with peanut allergy being most prevalent in the US, celery allergy is most prevalent in Central Europe.

It also says that celery seeds are high in calcium. We learn something (or two somethings!) new every day, I'm sure.

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Celery seeds were also used as a laxative back in the Middle Ages, if I recall correctly.

Of course I now wonder whether the dislike of celery that most people seem to share somehow originates with the fact that so many people are allergic to celery. I mean, a common allergy probably leads to general avoidance, meaning that even people who aren't allergic never develop a taste for the stuff, and thus they say "ugh, tastes like dirt" when they first encounter it...
(I've only learned to cook with and like celery - aside from as something that has to swim in vegetable broth because That's The Way It's Always Been - last year.)

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

It would take a lot of celery root to make a battleship. ;)

[conuly]

Of course I now wonder whether the dislike of celery that most people seem to share somehow originates with the fact that so many people are allergic to celery.

Maybe, but allergy in this case means "high likelihood of death or hospitalization" so it doesn't strike me as that huge a possibility. No, I think it's just that we have sucky celery for sale here.

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

I had no idea! I've never heard of anyone allergic to celery before. I wonder if scientists are trying to engineer a hypoallergenic celery, the way they are with peanuts.