I went through four methods before I found one that actually works. Plastic bag in the crisper drawer? Limp by day four. Standing in water like flowers? The outer stalks got slimy. Wrapped in damp paper towels? Better, but still soft after a week.

Then my aunt—who runs a small catering business and buys celery by the case—told me what she does. It was so simple I did not believe her at first.

The Problem with Most Storage Methods

Celery goes bad because of ethylene gas. It produces its own ethylene as it ages, and that gas speeds up the breakdown of cell walls. Most storage methods trap the gas close to the vegetable. Plastic bags are the worst—they seal it in and create a little ethylene sauna.

Celery also needs to breathe, but not too much. Open air dries it out. Too much moisture rots it. You are looking for the Goldilocks zone.

The Aluminum Foil Method

Remove the plastic immediately. As soon as you get home from the store, take the celery out of whatever bag it came in. Those bags are designed for transport, not storage.

Do not wash it yet. Moisture is the enemy. Wash individual stalks right before you use them. If they are visibly dirty, pat them completely dry first.

Wrap the whole bunch tightly in aluminum foil. Not loosely—wrap it like you are wrapping a burrito. Tuck the ends in. The foil lets ethylene gas escape while holding in just enough moisture to prevent wilting. It blocks light too, which slows aging.

Put it in the crisper drawer. Foil-wrapped celery goes straight in the fridge. Nothing else needed.

Why This Actually Works

Aluminum foil is not breathable in the way plastic wrap is not breathable—but it does not create a perfect seal either. The tiny gaps in the foil wrapping let gas exchange happen slowly. Plastic cling wrap is too airtight. Paper towels dry out too fast and then pull moisture from the celery itself.

My aunt has been doing this for fifteen years. She buys ten bunches on Monday and they are still crisp through Saturday service. At home, a single bunch lasts me almost two weeks.

A Quick Revival Trick

If your celery is already a little limp, do not throw it out. Cut the bottom half-inch off and stand the stalks in a glass of cold water for an hour. They will firm back up. Then foil-wrap what you do not use.

Also: do not store celery near apples or onions. Both produce loads of ethylene and will speed up spoilage. My crisper drawer has a designated celery corner far from everything else.