Updated on November 11th, 2022
If you’re unsure about what watercress tastes like, start by trying it in salads. Its pleasantly bitter flavor is similar to mustard greens, and it is milder than dandelion greens and is very healthy for you. Its flavor is peppery, similar to wasabi and mustard, but is milder in the summer. Its taste varies depending on cooking but generally has a distinctive vegetable flavor. It can be bitter if it has been overripe or is older, so young leaves should be avoided.
Watercress is a highly nutritious vegetable. It promotes healthy vision, strong bones, and heart and blood vessels. Its high vitamin and mineral content makes it a great addition to any dish. As an added bonus, it’s also rich in fiber, which helps keep the digestive system running smoothly. It’s a great addition to any dish! This veggie is a perfect addition to your diet, and its unique taste will make you want to eat it more frequently!
What Is Watercress?
Watercress is a leafy aquatic plant that thrives in chilly, shallow water. Watercress is a vegetable related to the mustard family.
The plant’s medicinal and culinary usage may be traced back to ancient times, native to Eurasia.
Watercress has been used to treat anything from foul breath to blood diseases (Hippocrates grew watercress outside for this purpose when he constructed the world’s first hospital in 400 B.C.E.).
There are a few old superstitions about the vegetable: Watercress was supposed to make you wise by the ancient Greeks, and it was thought to get rid of freckles by the Victorians.
The watercress plant is distinguished by its small, rounded green leaves, which produce tiny four-petaled white flowers. Its pale green stems float in water because they are hollow.
The entire plant is edible, from the stems to the leaves. While you may eat watercress roots, most people find them unpleasant.
What Is The Taste Of Watercress?
The taste of watercress is distinctly peppery. The pepperiness is similar to wasabi but diminishes when it’s cooked. Its distinct vegetable flavor is a distinct highlight. Unlike some vegetables, watercress has an excellent peppery flavor. It is a good choice for salads and can be eaten fresh or cooked. Its unique shape makes it easy to incorporate into any dish.
Although older plants might become slightly bitter, raw watercress tastes crisp and fresh. Its spicy flavor is reminiscent of mustard greens and wasabi, two closely related vegetables.
When cooked, the leafy green loses part of its pungency.
Watercress is an excellent way to get your daily dose of greens with its distinct flavor and texture.
If you’re new to cooking with watercress, it’s mild enough not to overshadow other flavors in a meal but has an undeniable freshness that you’ll adore.
It has a crunchy texture that makes salads feel fresh. It adds a hint of pepper to the dish, giving it a subtle peppery flavor with a hint of sweetness.
Watercress can also flavor and texture cooked meals like omelets and spaghetti sauces.
Watercress is a vegetable that belongs to the cabbage family and is both a herb and a vegetable. It has a softer, more delicate flavor than other members of its genus when consumed fresh (mustard).
Watercress takes on a tangier flavor when cooked, similar to cabbage.
Stir-fries, stews, and casseroles all benefit from it. Watercress plants older and larger have a more peppery and bitter flavor than those younger and smaller.
Health Benefits Of Watercress
Watercress isn’t simply a nutritious addition to your salad; it’s also a vegetable rock star.
With a perfect score of 100, the leafy green vegetable came out on top.
Though the capacity to explain why watercress is so beneficial to our health is new, the knowledge is not:
From 486 B.C.E. to 465 B.C.E., Persian King Xerxes commanded his warriors to eat vegetables for their health benefits.
Here are some of the superfood’s nutritional highlights:
- One cup of watercress contains more than 100% of the daily recommended vitamin K intake, critical for bone health.
- Watercress is a nutrient-dense meal low in calories and high in nutrients, making it a good choice for weight loss.
- Watercress, high in antioxidants, may help reduce your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
- The high vitamin C content of the vegetable gives your immune system a much-needed boost during cold and flu season.
Watercress is an edible plant with a peppery flavor. It is a rich source of vitamin C, which supports the immune system. It also promotes collagen production and helps the body heal from injury. It is rich in carotenoids and beta-carotene, which are potent antioxidants.
How To Keep Watercress Fresh?
Watercress should be stored similarly to other soft-stemmed herbs: Lightly covered in a glass of water in the refrigerator, and it will stay fresh for up to a week if you do this.
While watercress can theoretically be frozen, if you plan to eat it raw, you should avoid doing so because it will lose a lot of flavors, and the texture will be less appealing after thawing.
However, if you’re going to use it in a soup, you’ll want to put it in the freezer.
Also, the fresh watercress tastes somewhat peppery, a little bit like mustard. Once cooked, this pepperiness goes away, but it still retains a distinct vegetable flavor. Mature watercress can be slightly bitter. But it has a distinctive vegetable flavor that will be appealing to many. It can also be eaten raw, although it does tend to turn mushy when cooked.
What Is The Best Way To Eat Watercress?
The most straightforward approach to preparing watercress is thinking about how you’ll use it.
Remove any yellowing leaves from your watercress to keep it fresh and clean. If the stems are brown or wilted, toss them out before cooking.
If you wish to eat the leaves raw in a salad or sandwich, thoroughly wash them in cold water before using them.
This will clean the leaves and give them a fresh taste by removing any dirt or residue.
If you want to eat cooked watercress, clip about an inch from the bottom of each stem before washing it and cook it in salted boiling water for three minutes, unless the recipe says otherwise.
Let’s assume they won’t be devoured immediately soon.
In that scenario, it’s also critical that they be chilled with cold running water as soon as possible after being removed from the cooking liquid, as heated food encourages bacteria to proliferate exponentially quicker than cold food.
Four ways to eat watercress:
- Watercress can be eaten fresh, pounded into pesto, or combined into a smoothie with radishes. Chef Thomas Keller’s authentic German potato salad also calls for it.
- Fresh, peppery raw watercress is also a delicious meat garnish (especially game). Chef Thomas Keller’s hog shoulder à la Matignon, Wolfgang Puck’s pepper steak with red wine sauce, and Gordon Ramsay’s crispy duck salad are just a few of the dishes that use it.
- Try tossing the watercress in the rendered fat instead of the typical olive oil when serving it as a salad with roasted meat.
- Watercress’ flavor is mellowed by cooking it until it is wilted, as in a Chinese watercress-and-garlic stir-fry or the traditional French pottage cressonière, a puréed soup of watercress and potatoes.
What Are The Risks Of Consuming Watercress?
Thyroid Health May Be Affected
Goitrogens are chemicals found in most cruciferous vegetables, including watercress, that may interfere with iodine metabolism. Iodine is a necessary nutrient for thyroid health, and its deficiency may result in thyroid problems (23).
Thyroid patients should reduce their intake of watercress (and other cruciferous vegetables) and speak with their doctor.
Kidney Disease Can Be Made Worse
Potassium is present in watercress, but only in trace amounts. Excess potassium can make the renal disease worse (24). Before adding watercress to your diet, please with your doctor if you have kidney problems. Your doctor may advise you to reduce your intake and perhaps prescribe the proper dosage.
Conclusion
Watercress is a green, leafy vegetable that has hollow stems. The leaves are similar to spinach and have a light peppery flavor. The stems are hollow and can grow up to 50 centimeters. They are not bitter but can be a bit bitter when mature. When cooked, the leaves lose some of their pungency and become bitter. Soaking it in watercress is a delicious way to add green vegetables to your diet.
The leaves of watercress are generally a bitter, tangy taste. The stems are more pleasant to eat, and its leaves have a rounded shape similar to spinach. The stalks are hollow, which makes them more pleasant to eat. When cooked, the flavor is less pronounced. However, the flavor will still be there. It’s a great addition to salads, sandwiches, other dishes, and even a healthy snack.
