I hate to sound like a dummy,but I have never seen any in the market,all I know are collard,turnup, kale greens or creasy greens.I appreciate the info!
2007-02-09 02:03:25 · 5 answers · asked by pumpkin 4 in Food & Drink ➔ Ethnic Cuisine
water cress is a nice salad and very fresh ; you way want to look at a pic or two right at this link?
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=images&imgsz=all&imgc=&vf=all&va=water+cress&fr=ks-ans&ei=UTF-8
If you should discover a spring branch while out hiking that is covered with low, bright green plants you've probably stumbled on a population of Water Cress, one of our tastiest wild plants.
Watercress is a European introduction and not native to our continent. It was purposely planted by pioneer settlers as a source of winter greens crucial to human health in the days before regular deliveries of fresh produce. There are accounts of early doctors including the seeds of this plant in their medical kit which they planted in suitable locations for the use of their patients to stave off scurvy and other vitamin deficient diseases caused by a lack of green winter vegetables.
Watercress is a member of the Mustard family and like all members of this plant group contains chemical compounds which give it a hot, spicy flavor. Watercress is also extremely rich in vitamins - principally A, C and E - as well as iron, manganese, phosphorus, iodine, copper and calcium.
Medicinally Watercress had a multitude of uses for the early settlers. It was used to treat coughs, indigestion, gout, arthritis and goiter. The juice of the plant was reputed to remove freckles when applied to the face. Current herbal practitioners claim it dissolves kidney stones, regulates and normalizes blood sugar levels and is a tonic for liver ailments.
Today it's encountered mainly in upscale restaurants on sandwiches and salads and in health-food stores.
delicious ...:-)
2007-02-09 05:12:54 · answer #1 · answered by HJW 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Watercress (Nasturtium nasturtium-aquaticum, N. microphyllum, formerly Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum) are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennials native from Europe to central Asia and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings. These plants are members of the Family Brassicaceae or cabbage family, botanically related to garden cress and mustard — all noteworthy for a peppery, tangy flavor.Like many plants in this family, the foliage of watercress becomes bitter when the plants begin producing flowers.
Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C. In some regions watercress is regarded as a weed, in other regions as an aquatic vegetable or herb.
2007-02-09 02:58:28 · answer #2 · answered by wineduchess 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Watercress is a plant that grows near or in small fast moving freshwater streams. It is very tasty, on the astringint side and succulent (not the botanical definition). My parents has a stream on their property in TN and there was a nice patch of watercress that we used in our salads all the time. I am sure Wiki would have exhaustive info on the plant.
2007-02-09 02:09:01 · answer #3 · answered by Gunslinger 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Watercress is more like an herb. When you look for it in the grocery store look with the fresh herbs. They grow really well in running water like beside or inside a stream. I use them in water gardening all the time. They are a really good addition to your salad, tasty too. And they are really nice in your stream, great for filtering your pond. :)
2007-02-09 02:16:51 · answer #4 · answered by Karen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it s a very small leaves that look like baby spinach
2016-07-03 06:08:23 · answer #5 · answered by shirley 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are little small green leaves, and look like baby baby spinach. :-) Kind of a bite to them, makes them nice for sandwiches at tea.
2007-02-09 04:44:12 · answer #6 · answered by Sugar Pie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋