I prefer a darker green because it means more nutrition and flavor, IMO.

The only problem I ever have with the darker colored stalks is that they're sometimes a bit more tough.

Around here you can buy packages of celery hearts, which are pale.

I do not find the darker celery too bitter.

I've never had the darker celery ruin a dish. I just make sure to leave the tougher stalks large enough to be removable when done cooking. . I too like the lighter stalks because I like to munch a stalk for a snack and the darker are tough and more stringy. Finding the lighter stalks is hard to do here too, especially the organic kind. Keeping celery light green is a process that growers seem to be skipping.

Thanks, i thought i'd not be enabled to reply, cuz when i tried repeatedly via bookmarks, i never got signed in by Houzz, rather only via eNotifications did it work. Major pain in neck.

I'm assuming the bitter celery works out because y'all first sautee it, or some such remedy?

Or is that an incorrect assumption? I didn't see any mention of that.

I tried growing celery last year and read about growing it. Mine didn't grow well so I didn't get to test my knowledge but it says to wrap the celery at the end so it does not get sun light on the stocks and will turn pale so it isn't bitter.

Makes me think I should do a taste test with the outside and inside stocks. I've never liked it but maybe I'm eating the "wrong" colored stocks.

I've occasionally had some celery that tastes bitter when raw. Cooking does seem to help mellow it out. It's pretty easy to find packages of light green celery hearts around here. Just saw them at Trader Joe's today.

How does cooking compare to sauteeing, insofar as mellowing bitters?

BTW, I find it counterintuitive that on the one hand, the lighter parts of Romaine are more bitter than the green-leafy parts, yet on the other hand, its the opposite rule for celery (where the green is more bitter than the lighter stalks). Seems there's no set-in-stone rules when it comes to the colors of fruits and veggies.

I think the only way you're going to know if the stalks are going to be bitter is if you taste an outside stalk before using. I usually use them in a braise and haven't had a problem. One might detect a bitterness if using in a light flavored dish.

you peel it before use

So funny to read this; I always look for dark green celery because it looks fresher and more nutritious. Guess I don't find it bitter. Pale celery to me looks like it's had the darker outside stalks cut away, which seems could happen if they are on the shelf too long (in the cooler, not shelf).

Bitter is an individual thing. I suspect bitter celery is caused by a lack of water in the growing...like what causes bitter cucumbers....but i have never experienced bitter celery.
Cooking does not ameliorate bitterness.
You have the makings of soup in your freezer and refrigerator....roast up the veal bones....cover with water or canned or boxed broth....add your veggies chopped up, some salt unless you have used broth, add a can of tomatoes and let it simmer.

Very rarely do I come across bitter or stringy despite the color. I do taste first if dark green. I love celery so a bit bitter does not bother me. I'll just remove the few outer stalks and use those in stock or sofrito/miropoix. It does mellow when cooked. Just not as sweet. I use the inner stalks hearts and leaves for fresh eating/salads. I've never peeled. If stringy it will be chopped anyway.

Also, many varieties of celery exist. I have seeds for a pink variety this year. Most important is growing conditions. Large commercial growers don't bother blanching. Too much work. They remove the outer stalks and top leafy greens and send those off to be manufactured into canned soups and broths. Why we see so many packages of just hearts. My market has organic in a package of three hearts and the big whole organic dark green with all the top leaves...full of flavor. On occasion an outer stalk will be near hollow.

Spent soil lacking nutrients, lack of water or too much, (like mentioned), unexpected high temperatures. etc.

This link explains it. HERE

When lock-down happened last March, a group of co-workers started a cooking group on-line. Most had not made soup or even roasted a chicken.

I walked them through a few basics and even put together a kitchen basics pot and pan list. Most purchased the 4 quart Staub when it was on sale.

Here is one good recipe that uses pantry staples. Don't like or have celery, keep it out. Don't like tomato, not necessary. Open a can of crushed tomato that is too big, freeze the extra or use it for a pasta dinner.

The thing I prefer that I do different...I cook my beans and pasta on their own/separate. Then add 5-10 minutes before serving. Beans especially have varied cooking times. Extra beans and pasta can be a quick next day lunch or dinner.

Like Linda mentioned, you can make a stock with your bones like Kenji in the video, but I would not do that with the beans.

He is a good teacher...link, HERE

For stock, use the smallest pan/pot that fits your bones in a single layer on the Bottom. Barely cover with water and put the chopped veg on top. Carrot, celery, onion, etc. I chop mine finer....they can be above the water line since they will soften and cook down. Check at about a half hour.....then add a bit of water if needed. Vegetables are full of water.

I don't like the thin dark-green heads because they are bitter! But when it's all I can find to cook with, I have to buy it.

I sometimes buy the bag at Costco that has sticks of celery hearts, but it's a big bag. But the celery is delicious.

Thanks for all your tips such as peeling, and mellowing via cooking (though i note differences of opinion among posters). Note that even the celery hearts in the store are dark green! It's crazy. In one store, thank goodness i just managed to find some celery with a few lighter stalks mixed in with the dark green.

Sleevendog, i needed to learn all this when i was young. I just viewed the Kenji video, but he narrates so high-speed, that i can't absorb what he says.

What you say about soup stock is interesting. So lets say i put chicken necks in a 2-qt or 3-qt pot and cover them with water, till they're just covered. Then I top the water-line with chopped carrots & celery. (I'm nervous about onions, because unless it's a whole onion, i find that if i leave onions non-sauteed, i develop terrible weeks-long autoimmune symptoms which mimicks flu.)

...by the same token, Kenji insists on extra-virgin olive oil, but that too i'm intolerant of. In fact, alot is correlated to how strongly-flavorful food is! The less extreme, the less my intolerances. Citrus is a killer, causing major headache and inflammations, tongue sores, stomachache, you name it.

Now back to your stock, i assume i can add onions in sauteed form to the chopped-veggies? Then i simmer for 1/2 hour on Low flame? Medium flame? After which, what do you do with the stock?

As for pasta, i only get elbows, because someone once gave me a great tip, that curved pasta such as elbows or rotini stick to each other less.

...I don't have luck on stovetop, but microwaved pasta is easy peasy. I just cover with water, cook on high 7 min.

...Then fluff.

...Then cover w/water again and put it back into microwave for another 8 min. Then mix in a spoon of light olive oil.

FWIW, when I make chicken stock, I usually add only bay leaves, no veggies at all. Maybe a bit of vinegar to help extract more calcium from the bones, and I simmer until it's aspic, sometimes over several days. I prefer it plain so I can use it for any type of dish.

I also make stock from the seasoned carcasses of roasted chicken or other poultry, and don't add any veggies to that either.

This is a Cry For Help.

Wow, sleevendog, you get a dozen pints from that? From what you described, it seemed like the strained-part would fit into some ice cube trays (with each cube providing the stock for a pot of soup). As for Kenji's style, not everyone grasps the same way. I myself absorb instructions best when it's step-by-step, without too many complications. Complex strategies are meant for people with loads of energy to expend. But that's not me anymore.

For an example of step-by-step simple instructions, see the style used on WikiHow, as follows: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Stocks-for-Soups-and-Sauces

BTW thanks again - because your post caused me to look up the above wikihow, which i'll keep in mind for when i get the chance. See? One thing leads to another, and that's how people wind up learning stuff.