Celery seeds are more intensely flavoured than the stalks and leaves, with a warm, concentrated, earthy taste, lingering bitterness, and hints of grassiness, but without the freshness of the vegetable. Use them judiciously in soups, sauces, and vegetable dishes.
The most abundant flavour compound in celery seeds is citrus-scented limonene, with lesser amounts of herbal-tasting selinene and woody, spicy humulene. However, the unique herbal taste of this spice is produced by unusually potent lactone compounds called phthalides, which are present in only trace amounts but have a profound effect on the overall flavour.
