There’s nothing worse than bringing bread home from the grocery store, only to find out that it’s moldy a few days later. It’s disappointing to have to abandon your morning toast or your midday sandwich, but there’s a simple hack that could potentially prevent it from happening again — and everything you need might already be in your refrigerator. Believe it or not, it’s all about celery. This common vegetable holds the secret to keeping bread fresher longer on the counter because of its high moisture content. Adding celery to increase the relative humidity inside the bag slows down staling issues. The celery trick will work across any bread product, as long as the celery is fresh and not dried out. It’s recommended that you use a pre-washed celery root with the leaves cut off. The only potential negative result is that your food might taste like celery if you let it touch the bread. You’ll have to decide if the celery flavor is a deal-breaker. It’s probably okay for your sandwich, but maybe not for your kid’s quesadilla. There are a couple of points to remember. First, this trick won't prevent mold, so if your bread bag already has condensation inside, skip the celery stalk because that means your bread is already on its way to developing mold. The trick also won't revive stale bread. To prevent bread from becoming stale, the best thing to do is store it in the freezer. The celery trick also works on brown sugar, but don't bother trying it with crackers.
