Greek garden cress

A spicy version of garden cress that deserves to be more widely grown. 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. But is not to be confused with watercress. Garden cress seeds called halloon are bitter, tonic and diuretic. They are useful in the treatment of asthma, coughs with expectoration, poultices for sprains, skin disease, diarrhoea, scurvy and seminal weakness. Seeds have been shown to reduce the symptoms of asthma and improve lung function in asthmatics. Also known as Greek cress, mustard and cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort pepper grass, or poor man's pepper. Tags: Color: Green, Season: Spring Fall, Seed: Safe Seed Pledge.

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.