by Frank Ernhart

You may ask: Frank are you nuts? Why make it from scratch when you can buy it already in a can? I do it for 2 reasons:
  1. I know for sure what is in the soup (no preservatives, artificial flavors, color enhancers, and other items)
  2. It tastes better!
Go ahead and read "their" recipe, then read mine and then YOU decide which is better.

Here is what is in one popular brand of commercial cream of celery soup contains. It reads like a chemical dictionary: water, celery, wheat flour, soybean oil, salt, margarine, (soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, water, salt, whey [milk], soybean mono & diglycerides with partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils), soy lecithin, potassium sorbate [preservative], citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene [for color], whey powder (milk), corn starch, modified corn starch, monosodium glutamate, cream, whey protein concentrate (milk), soy protein concentrate, natural flavors, disodium phosphate, onion powder, garlic powder, spice, beta carotene (for color), soy lecithin. They don't say how they cook it because that isn't required by the government's food labeling laws.

Fresh Ingredients:

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 stalks of celery, chopped fine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a 1 qt saucepan, then add celery and sauté until crispy tender (about 5 minutes). Blend in the flour and cook with stirring until liquid is smooth. About 1 minute. Slowly blend in the chicken stock, then the milk, until the liquid is smooth, then slow simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt & pepper and serve.

Like to vary this recipe? How about adding a little cayenne pepper to give it a little kick.