I opened my crisper drawer last week and found a bag of celery I forgot about. Limp. Rubber-textured. The stalks bent instead of snapping. A month ago I would have thrown it straight into the trash and added “celery” to my shopping list.

But a produce manager at my local farmers market once told me something that stuck: “Celery is just water in a green suit. When it wilts, it is thirsty. Give it a drink.” He was right. Reviving celery takes five minutes of effort and zero dollars.

The glass of water trick

This is the method that works 90 percent of the time. Trim about a half inch off the bottom of the stalks — the cut end is sealed and dried out, so it cannot absorb water. Stand the celery upright in a tall glass or jar with an inch or two of cold water at the bottom, like a bouquet of flowers.

Put it in the fridge. In 2 to 3 hours the stalks will be crisp again. If they are extremely limp, leave them overnight. The celery pulls water up through its vascular system — the same way it grew in the field.

For really far-gone celery: the ice bath

If the celery is so limp it folds in half, skip the glass method and go straight to an ice bath. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Submerge the celery stalks completely. Let them sit for 30 to 60 minutes.

The cold temperature constricts the cell walls while the water rehydrates them. It is the vegetable equivalent of splashing cold water on your face in the morning. The celery comes out shockingly crisp.

Prevention is even easier

The reason celery wilts in the fridge is moisture loss. The crisper drawer slows this down but does not stop it. Wrap celery tightly in aluminum foil — not plastic wrap, not a produce bag. Foil blocks moisture loss better than anything else. I have had foil-wrapped celery stay crisp for three weeks.

The plastic bag method works too, but only if you add a slightly damp paper towel inside the bag. Without the towel, the bag traps ethylene gas — which celery itself produces — and accelerates spoilage.

When to actually throw it away

Revival has limits. If the celery is slimy, smells off, or has brown spots that go deep into the stalk, it is past saving. Slimy = bacterial growth. Toss it. But if it is just limp and the color is still pale green, it will come back.