Watercress

Nasturtium × sterile, N. officinale

leaf

Round, peppery leaves of a crucifer that grows with its feet in running water, watercress — not to be confused with garden cress, which grows on dry ground. 100 g provide 120 mg of calcium and 43 mg of vitamin C, with glucosinolates.

Origin

Europe and Western Asia

Season (United States)

September to May · grows in your region

Preparation

Wild, it is never eaten raw: near pastures, it carries the liver fluke. Farmed watercress is eaten raw. It grows at ground level and catches the splashes of watering: washing it leaf by leaf, in plenty of water, beats a quick rinse of the whole bunch. The bite IS the molecule: long cooking erases it, raw and short cooking keep it. Most of its goitrogens go with cooking, even a short one.

Molecules

Beta-carotene (vitamin A) · Lutein and zeaxanthin · Pungent glucosinolates · Vegetable nitrates · Vitamin C · Folates (B9) · Vitamin K1 · Calcium · ChlorophyllWhat slows things down Goitrogens

Did you know?

Its genus name, Nasturtium, is said to come from the Latin nasum, “nose”, and torquere, “to twist”: the grimace its bite brings on.