Celery Seeds Are The Ingredient That'll Take Your Tuna Salad Up A Notch

Tuna salad is a lunchtime classic, but the classics don't always have to be boring. There's always room to improve upon the basics, and with a fairly neutral dish like tuna salad, adding a few extra ingredients to spice things up is easy.

A good tuna salad starts with high-quality canned tuna, good mayo, and a mix of add-ins such as diced red onion, green onion, celery, or even hard-boiled eggs. Add to that whatever extra flavor you want: A squirt of hot sauce sriracha will spice things up, or a drizzle of lemon juice for brightness. We recommend another spice to add a punch of nutty, vegetal flavor to your tuna: celery seed.

Even if you already have chopped celery in your tuna salad, celery seed adds an even deeper flavor to the dish. Filled with the potent taste of concentrated celery, it'll allow you to add less chopped celery to the salad while still maintaining maximum flavor.

Celery seeds are exactly what they sound like; they're seeds that come from wild celery plants. These seeds are dried and then either packaged whole or ground up and sold as a powder. The tiny brown seeds pack a punch of intense celery flavor, so a little goes a long way in a recipe.

Celery seeds are not to be confused with celery salt, though the two are extremely similar. Celery salt is simply made of ground celery seed mixed with salt. This spice can be used in the same recipes that call for celery seed, but be sure to reduce the amount of regular salt you'll be using in exchange.

Celery seed and celery salt go well in soups, marinades, and salads such as potato or tuna. To add that punch of celery flavor, mix a ½ teaspoon of celery seed or salt into your prepared salad. Only a small amount is needed for a noticeable result.

If you're big on celery flavor, celery seed can be added to just about any recipe, either as a substitute for working with the real vegetable or to increase the taste of the celery already in a dish. Celery seed works best in concert with other flavors; it goes well as part of a marinade, in a dry rub, or even in a pickle brine. You can also stir it into stews, sprinkle it into salad dressings, or use it to finish off deviled eggs.

Celery salt is an important ingredient in a few popular recipes, including Chicago-style hot dogs. A sprinkle of celery salt on top of all the veggies and toppings gives the dog its signature flavor. Celery salt is also key for making a Bloody Mary; often, the rim of the glass the drink goes into is coated in celery salt, giving that pop of salty, veggie goodness.