On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 08:13:27 CST, "Peter Corser" wrote:

Peter, thanks so much for sharing your experiences. A 29 yo pond, wow.

Watercress should be very hot & peppery -

Well... hot & peppery probably is equal to bitter on my tongue. ;-)

problems) and we always take fresh watercress to our dances or party nights
and the watercress always runs out.

Maybe they are fellow pond keepers and are taking it home as a pond plant.
:-) Apparently it is a locale taste. Here the grocery stores only started
carrying it because pond people started asking for it. Then they found some
of the immigrants would buy it as FOOD. Still, stores don't always carry
it.

One method which might make it more palatable

Sounds like work.... and the willingness to acquire the taste. (I don't
drink beer either for that reason.) :-)

If all else fails watercress is a marvellous natural activator for a compost
heap/maker!

Now this I can use... if the koi don't eat it first. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

watercress is only availabel in my local stores if someone requests it, and
I also found it very bitter.. almost a strong mustardy taste. The wife also
found it distasteful, and I can;t imagien havinbg a watercress sandwich.

OTOH, the fish gobbled all of it right up, faster then it could grow.. seems
my guys will eat any plant I toss in there!


--
Gareee
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

"Gareee©" wrote in message
...
watercress is only availabel in my local stores if someone requests it,
and I also found it very bitter.. almost a strong mustardy taste. The wife
also found it distasteful, and I can;t imagien havinbg a watercress
sandwich.

OTOH, the fish gobbled all of it right up, faster then it could grow..
seems my guys will eat any plant I toss in there!


--
Gareee
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

Not to be off-topic, but the best watercress is flowering nasturtum, which I
grew in my regular garden for many year. The seeds come in packets like any
other flower. My sister-in-law was taken aback that anyone would serve her
FLOWERS! But the blossoms are as delicious as the leaves, maybe even more
so.
I'm a sucker for the stems, too. Peppery and light, they add something to a
salad. The flowers make a lovely accent on top, and instead of parsley to
beautify a plate.
I live in a cooler climate, though.

--
kat ^.^
Welcome to Malaria Gardens
Mosquito rides Now Open for the Season
Please hold tightly to small children and pets
Rhinelander, WI

kat ^.^ wrote:

Not to be off-topic, but the best watercress is flowering nasturtum, which
I grew in my regular garden for many year. The seeds come in packets like
any
other flower. My sister-in-law was taken aback that anyone would serve
her FLOWERS! But the blossoms are as delicious as the leaves, maybe even
more so.

And the seeds themselves are "capers".
--
derek
- Unless otherwise noted, I speak for myself, not rec.ponds.moderated
moderators.

And the seeds themselves are "capers".
Capers are watercress seeds? - We had them on the cruise ship in '86 on
different foods - thought it was a Greek thing - excellent
Gale :~)

G Pearce wrote:



And the seeds themselves are "capers".
Capers are watercress seeds? - We had them on the cruise ship in '86 on
different foods - thought it was a Greek thing - excellent

Er, no, capers are nasturtium seeds.

Now I'm confused, too :-)

Plants with the common name "Nasturtium" are genus Tropaeolum ("Flowering
Nasturtium" is /Tropaelum Majus/) and not at all related to watercress -
which is genus Nasturtium! Watercress is a type of mustard.

Here's a good page: http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Lepi_sat.html

Now I have to follow up what he said about capers - maybe they _aren't_
actually the same thing...
--
derek
- Unless otherwise noted, I speak for myself, not rec.ponds.moderated
moderators.

And the seeds themselves are "capers".
Capers are watercress seeds? - We had them on the cruise ship in '86 on
different foods - thought it was a Greek thing - excellent

Er, no, capers are nasturtium seeds.

Now I'm confused, too :-)

Plants with the common name "Nasturtium" are genus Tropaeolum ("Flowering
Nasturtium" is /Tropaelum Majus/) and not at all related to watercress -
which is genus Nasturtium! Watercress is a type of mustard.

Here's a good page: http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Lepi_sat.html

Now I have to follow up what he said about capers - maybe they _aren't_
actually the same thing...

OK, Derek - you got the ball, run with it :~
Gale :~)

Derek Broughton wrote:

Now I have to follow up what he said about capers - maybe they _aren't_
actually the same thing...

I love nasturtiums. It's fun eating flowers!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper

Scroll down to the "Culinary Uses" section and it says that unripe
nasturtium seeds can be substituted for caper berries.

As for watercress, you just explained why my flowering watercress looks
so much like the wild mustard weed that grows around here. Thanks!

--
My other fish and pond forum is:
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

~ jan wrote, On 10/04/2007 06:40:
Watercress should be very hot & peppery -

Well... hot & peppery probably is equal to bitter on my tongue. ;-)
One method which might make it more palatable

Sounds like work.... and the willingness to acquire the taste. (I don't
drink beer either for that reason.) :-)

You sound like a supertaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster).
I'm the opposite, water cress tastes great and I eat lemons like
oranges. It's good to be a genetic anomaly.
All this talk of biofilters has reminded me that the pile of decking
offcuts needs to be turned into a filter frame.

--
DavidM
www.djmorgan.org.uk