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Watercress is a leafy green vegetable with a peppery, tangy, slightly bitter flavour. It may be used both raw and cooked in a variety of dishes, but is most frequently used as a lettuce green. It has something to do with mustard and cabbage.
In the family Brassicaceae, which also contains kale, mustard greens, and collard greens, watercress (Nasturtium officinale), often known as yellowcress or just cress and prominently Jalkumbhi in hindi, is a cruciferous vegetable. This family also includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, and Brussels sprouts. Watercress is an aquatic plant that has round to slightly oblong, tiny to medium-green leaves that are linked to hollow, crisp stalks that are also edible. Being an aquatic plant, it is frequently grown hydroponically, which means that no soil is used and that the plant is grown in a nutrient-rich liquid solution instead. This is a common approach to growing other varieties of lettuce, as well as strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.
Watercress is often compared to other greens like arugula, broccoli rabe, dandelion greens, and mustard greens because of its peppery, slightly bitter flavour. It is frequently used in salads where its tart flavour stands out against other, softer-tasting greens. The greens are frequently cooked, which helps to mellow out their fiery flavour. The same ingredients that give mustard and horseradish, which come from the same botanical family as watercress, their spicy flavour, also give watercress its peppery flavour.
Uses
Wash the fresh watercress before using it, especially if you're going to eat it raw, as you should with all lettuce, even items in bags that claim to have been prewashed. The simplest way to do this is to fill a large bowl with water, or even the sink, and swish the leaves about in the water so that any grit or dirt will settle to the bottom. The cleaned leaves should then be transferred to a salad spinner and spun till dry by straining them and skimming the water's surface. Now the leaves are prepared for usage.
In addition to being served raw in salads, sandwiches, and smoothies, watercress can also be lightly wilted or sautéed, much like spinach. The leaves can be stacked into casseroles, added to soups, lightly sautéed and combined with spaghetti, and sprinkled over pizza before baking. A traditional French dish, potage au cresson is a creamy pureed soup made with potatoes and watercress. Similar to how watercress sandwiches are a must-have for an authentic English high tea.
Flavour
The flavour of watercress is distinctively peppery and spicy, with a hint of tanginess and a soft bitterness. More ripe leaves have a more pronounced bitter flavour, and boiling tends to lessen the spicy flavour slightly.
Storage Tips
Because the leaves and stems of watercress are so perishable, if you buy fresh watercress leaves in a bag, you should plan to keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days. If you buy fresh watercress in a bundle, you can untie the band holding it together and put the watercress in a container in the refrigerator with the stems submerged. Fresh watercress can be kept in this way for up to five days.
