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Cream of Celery
(Paris.) Cut off the tips of one head of celery and mash it with a potato-masher, then boil it twenty minutes in 1 pint of chicken broth. Blend 2 tablespoonfuls of flour with the same amount of butter, add salt and pepper, stir in 1 pint rich, boiling milk and then strain it carefully.
A short, telegraphic recipe of the kind written for cooks who already knew how a cream soup went together. The steps as printed leave out the moment where the two halves meet, so read it through before starting.
- The missing stepThe recipe never says to combine the celery broth with the milk and roux, but that is the dish. Cook the flour and butter together a minute or two, whisk in the boiling milk to make a thin white sauce, then add the celery and its broth and strain the lot. Straining before combining leaves you with two separate pans and no soup.
- A head of celeryIn this period a head generally means the entire bunch as it comes from the market, not a single rib. Modern bunches may run somewhat larger; one whole bunch, roughly 1 to 1 1/4 lb trimmed, suits a quart of soup.
- "Cut off the tips"This most likely means removing the leafy tops and the coarse upper ends. The leaves can be set aside as a garnish rather than thrown out.
- Mashing before boilingA potato masher bruises the ribs so the celery gives up its flavour quickly. A few pulses in a food processor does the same job. If you prefer a thicker, greener soup, skip the final straining and blend the celery into the base instead.
- Rich milkMilk of this period was not standardised, and "rich" probably indicates unskimmed, creamy milk. Whole milk with a splash of cream, or half-and-half, is a reasonable stand-in; scald it rather than boiling hard, which can scorch on the pan bottom.
- Twenty minutesThat is long enough to soften the celery thoroughly and reduce the pint of broth somewhat. Keep it at a bare simmer with a lid ajar; a hard boil will cook away too much of the liquid you need.
- SeasoningSalt and pepper are the only seasonings given, and canned or homemade chicken broth varies enormously in salt. Season at the end, after straining, and taste. A grating of nutmeg or a few celery seeds is period-appropriate if the soup tastes flat.
- YieldTwo pints of liquid before reduction gives four modest first-course servings, or two as a light supper with bread.
The parenthetical "(Paris.)" suggests a recipe gathered, or said to be gathered, from a kitchen abroad. What the note may mark is the influence of French method on American home cooking, at a time when the veloute and bechamel structure butter and flour cooked together, moistened with stock or milk had become the standard armature for the pureed cream soups that opened a proper dinner. Cream of celery in particular belonged to the era when celery was still something of a luxury vegetable, blanched in trenches and sold by the head, often set out raw in tall cut-glass celery vases as a table ornament as much as a food.