Broad Leaf garden cress

Quick-growing, high-yielding type with large, smooth leaves. After harvest, leaves remains stable relatively long. Garden cress is added to soups, sandwiches, sauces and salads for its tangy flavor. It is also eaten as sprouts, and the fresh or dried seed pods can be used as a peppery seasoning. In England, cut cress shoots are commonly used in sandwiches with boiled eggs, mayonnaise and salt. Plants exhibits a compact growth of dark green, flat dissected leaves. Garden cress is genetically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavor and aroma. Tags: Color: Green, Specialty: Sprouting, Season: Spring Fall.

Native to Egypt and Middle East, cultivated in Persia around 400 B.C. Spread many centuries ago to western Europe. The word cress is from old germanic cresso which means sharp, spicy. Garden cress seeds, since ancient times, have been used in local traditional Ayurvedic medicine of India. Today Garden cress is commercially grown in England, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Garden cress is suitable for hydroponic cultivation and thrives in slightly alkaline water. In many local markets, the demand for hydroponically grown cress can exceed available supply, partially because cress leaves are not suitable for distribution in dried form, so can be only partially preserved. Consumers commonly acquire cress as seeds or (in Europe) from markets as boxes of young live shoots. Delicious garden cress recipes.