It’s winter so I find myself eating more soups and stews. They can be so good on a cold day.
But IMO celery tastes horrible and only subtracts from the flavor of soup by covering up other flavors. Why is it such a common ingredient? Do people actually like enjoy or is it serving some other purpose?
(Yes I avoid it in other foods too. Not to go off topic but water chestnuts are a fantastic substitute if you like the crunch. Try them instead of celery next time you make stuffing.)
Which part of the celery? Only North America sticks to using the stalk only like it’s some miracle growth. Most European cuisine discarded stalk for centuries, using only the root for soups and stews as a staple. It wasn’t until fairly recently when celery stalk started seeing use in salads in Europe.