Chalke Valley Watercress

Chalke valley watercress is a sixth generation family business.

Growing traditional dark green watercress on the natural springs of the Chalke valley, supplying fresh cress daily nationwide to the wholesale markets, hotels, restaurants and local shops since 1880.

Why Watercress?

An early superfood

Hippocrates, the father of medicine is said to have located his first hospital beside a stream in Koz around 400BC, so that he could grow a plentiful supply of watercress to aid and treat his patients.

It is said to have been the staple diet of roman soldiers, the poor man’s food of the Victorian time; watercress was munched from a paper cone in the streets making it one of the first fast foods but more importantly an early superfood.

Superfoods are foods especially rich in health-promoting nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants. Gram for gram watercress contains more vitamin C than oranges, more vitamin E than Broccoli, more calcium than cow’s milk and more folate than bananas, it also contains iron and beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. You can deny Watercress is so good for you and with its mustard peppery taste, it is fantastic!

It definitely deserves its place as a top ingredient in a well-balanced healthy diet.