A : Watercress is most commonly used in salads, smoothies, soups and sandwiches, however it can also be treated as a herb and used to flavour sauces and dressings. It is delicious wilted or stir fried and can be used in a similar way to spinach.
Can you use watercress instead of spinach?
Watercress is a cruciferous vegetable you can use as a spinach substitute in a pinch. Raw watercress has a slightly peppery flavor, but cooked watercress is a bit milder. For this reason, watercress may be a good choice for recipes that call for cooked spinach, like egg dishes, pastas, and soups.
Does watercress lose nutrients when cooked?
Vitamin B is another water-soluble vitamin present in high levels in watercress and this too is reduced when watercress is cooked, while minerals like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc may be reduced by up to 60 to 70%. All this suggests it’s best to eat watercress uncooked.
How do you cook raw watercress?
Zap watercress in the food processor with a little oil and some parsley for a vibrant herb sauce, or add some nuts and cheese and call it pesto. Watercress is at home in almost any stir-fry—swap it in for any Asian green—or simply sautéed with butter and perhaps some radishes.
Is cooked watercress good for you?
Eating watercress can help support the health of your heart. Antioxidants (carotenoids in particular) have been linked to lower blood pressure, lower risk of heart disease, and even a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Which is healthier watercress or spinach?
Spinach is richer not only in vitamins but in minerals as well. Spinach has 15 times more iron, five times more zinc, and nearly four times more magnesium than watercress. Spinach is also richer in potassium, copper and contains higher levels of sodium.
What are the side effects of eating watercress?
There are no known side effects of watercress at routine doses.
Can you get liver fluke from watercress?
People usually become infected by eating raw watercress or other water plants contaminated with immature parasite larvae. The young worms move through the intestinal wall, the abdominal cavity, and the liver tissue, into the bile ducts, where they develop into mature adult flukes that produce eggs.
Should watercress be eaten raw or cooked?
Watercress can be used in a wide variety of dishes. However, to get the most benefits from its active antioxidant compounds, it’s best eaten raw or lightly steamed ( 36 ).
How long does it take watercress to cook?
Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add watercress and salt; cook, stirring constantly, for about 40 seconds.
How do you get the bitterness out of watercress?
My mother-in-law, an expert of making watercress soup, once taught me her trick of how to make watercress soup without bitterness. It’s so simple. You need to add the watercress in vigorously boiling water in batches, not in warm water or anywhere not up to the boil. Then your soup won’t give you bitterness.
Do you eat the stems on watercress?
The entire watercress plant is edible – leaves, stalks and even the flowers. Only the roots are best discarded as they don’t taste great! Everything else can be eaten raw or added to your favourite dish to add that classic peppery flavour.
Who should not eat watercress?
Stay on the safe side and avoid use. Children: Watercress is LIKELY UNSAFE for use as a medicine in children, especially in those younger than four years old. Stomach or intestinal ulcers: Don’t use watercress if you have stomach or intestinal ulcers. Kidney disease: Don’t use watercress if you have kidney disease.
Does watercress need to be washed?
Always wash your watercress in cold water before eating, especially if it was touching the water. Immersing the cress in cold water also refreshes it and makes it come back to life, an important trick to have around if it was purchased or a bit wilted.
Does watercress taste like spinach?
Another easy-to-find vegetable, spinach has a completely different flavor than watercress—but you can attempt to mask this with a few heavy-handed dashes of black pepper.
Which is healthier watercress or kale?
Watercress scores a whopping 1000 on the scale putting it in joint first place with kale, right at the top of the crops and way ahead of blueberries, edamame, broccoli and spinach.
Does watercress increase blood pressure?
Overview. Like beetroot , watercress contains natural nitrates. When chewed in the mouth these are converted by beneficial bacteria to nitrites and once in the stomach to gaseous nitrogen which enters the bloodstream dilating blood vessels and LOWERING blood pressure.
Should I boil watercress?
Like kale, watercress doesn’t need to be cooked for very long to yield tender and tasty results. In fact, you’ll probably cook watercress for shorter amounts of time than kale because the leaves are thinner and much smaller than kale leaves.
Can we cook watercress?
A : Watercress is best eaten raw as it loses a proportion of its health benefits when cooked. However, watercress is also a useful ingredient when used in cooked dishes as it adds a unique flavour to soups, stews and stir fries and does retain a proportion of its fantastic properties.
Can you eat watercress everyday?
You can eat watercress everyday and, as watercress is sold in all supermarkets, it’s easy to get your nutritional top-up! Watercress (nasturtium officinale) is a superfood; we already know that watercress is rich in vitamins, containing over 50 vital vitamins and minerals.
Is watercress good for your stomach?
5 more reasons why watercress can aid digestion and is good for gut health. Stimulates flow of bile – chewing watercress can help to stimulate bile flow from the liver. Bile helps to emulsify and digest fats and helps us digest and absorb vital fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A and Vitamin E.