Cress is one of the versatile herbs that is used in the kitchen for many dishes. It contains many he althy ingredients and should only be eaten raw so that the vitamins are not destroyed.
What is the best way to eat cress?
Cress is a spicy, slightly spicy herb that should be eaten raw to preserve its he althy ingredients. It can be used as a salad, as an ingredient in curds, on sandwiches or as an addition to soups. It is advisable to use cress fresh as it does not store well.
What do cress and garden cress taste like?
Cress contains mustard oil. This makes the leaves taste slightly spicy. Depending on the variety, the aroma is reminiscent of mustard or radishes. Cress gives dishes a spicy taste and spices up some boring salads.
Use as fresh as possible
Cress does not last long once it has been cut. Therefore, only harvest as much cress as you can use immediately.
You should only wash cress in an emergency. The water causes the leaves to become limp and leach out. This causes them to lose their aroma and taste watery.
If it is necessary to wash them, hold them under a gentle stream of water and then dry them well.
Cress is particularly often used as:
- Salad
- Quark ingredient
- Butterbread topping
- Soup garnish
- cress butter
- cress oil
- Pesto
- Vegetable seasoning
If possible, do not allow cress to cook, as the heat causes many ingredients, especially the heat-sensitive vitamins, to be lost.
If the cress has already set flowers when harvested, the leaves will become tart and somewhat leathery. In this case, you can cook the cress briefly and serve it warm as cress soup.
Since cress is difficult to store, process large harvests into cress butter or cress oil. You should never dry cress as it will then hardly have any aroma. Freezing is an emergency solution, but it is better to avoid it.
Cress sprouts
Cress sprouts have a particularly high amount of vitamins. They are sprinkled raw over the food and also taste delicious on bread and butter.
cress flowers
The flowers of the garden cress are edible, but do not have a particularly good aroma.
The nasturtium flowers are an exception. They are very decorative and look good on soups, salads or vegetable platters. Its taste is slightly aromatic.
Tips & Tricks
Cress is used in natural medicine for many ailments. Cress is said to be very helpful if you have a loss of appetite. The ingredients are even said to be effective as a natural antibiotic.
