Protected local food
Yamagata Celery
山形セルリー
Crisp, juicy celery from Yamagata city, with tender fibres and little bitterness. Grown with water from the city's old canals and the Zao mountains.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 9 April 2018
- Region
- Tohoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 山形セルリー
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 山形県山形市内
Canals and mountain water
Celery needs a lot of water. Yamagata city, in Yamagata, is laced with the Gozeki, five old irrigation canals, and growers also pump plentiful ground water from the Zao mountains. Over years they worked out seed growing, temperature control and fertilising that suit this cold region, and it became Tohoku's leading celery area.
Crisp and mild
The stalks are not too thick, and the fibres stay tender even as the plant grows. It is juicy and crisp, with little of the harsh or bitter taste some celery has. Growers have selected plants for many years to keep these traits.
How to eat it
Eat it raw with miso mayonnaise, in salads or quickly stir-fried. Its mildness suits people who usually find celery too strong.
Good to know
- Yamagata city is the gateway to Zao's snow monsters in winter and Yamadera temple all year.
- In Yamagata, also try Yonezawa beef, Higashine cherries and Yamagata La France pears.
Questions travellers ask
Is it different from regular celery?
It is the same vegetable, selected to be tender, juicy and mild, with little bitterness.
Where is it grown?
In Yamagata city, Yamagata Prefecture.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.