Watercress

[TurqoiseJasper]

Why is this impossible to find in any supermarket or greengrocer???
I'm craving a watercress salad and can't find it anywhere!!!

Well wow😂 I actually think I would die dead, I know it sounds like a massive exaggeration, but my mouth waters at the thought of it, before I expire may need to eat my body weight in watercress

I have been living in Ireland for 22 years and I have never ever seen it in my supermarkets or any green grocer, and that has how long it's been since I had a watercress sandwich 😭😭😭

As I said, Lidl, this morning, Ireland. Unfortunately in a mixed bag. There was a period a decade or so back when someone - could have been Tesco, was probably Lidl - sold watercress on its own.

I'm finding this thread fascinating. I had no idea watercress wasn't a thing in Ireland! Given the climate is much the same as the UK you'd think there'd be tons of the stuff.

I got it in Marks until maybe 5 years ago? I always had watercress soup ready when my daughter was visiting...she moved out 8 years ago. Did it vanish with the pandemic or brexit?
If it is available in the North I will call Joe Duffy. Or Conor Pope.
I will check the Quay CoOp in Cork.

It grows all over the place and I'm happy to make and eat soup from it when I know what the water was like where I picked it, but I'd be wary of eating wild-collected watercress anywhere there could be cattle because of liver fluke, not something I'd like to catch (an intermediate host may live on the cress).

I came across this:
Al'Fez Rose Harissa 180g (organico.ie)
Organico is a shop run by two sisters in ...Bantry, I think.
I've ordered from them once and found them good. You get a cheerful note and a free herbal tea sachet with your order

SuperValu do the mixed salad bags too with spinach, rocket and watercress if that's any good to you OP.
I love the note and free teabag from Organico @MarieDeGournay! It makes me happy and I'm not even a fan of herbal tea.

Thanks @MarieDeGournay 😍

Thank you! I'm astounded at how many of you are such keen watercress lovers 😂

Not wishing to contradict you@DeanElderberry but Ive never known Lidl to sell watercress by itself. Tesco's, Sainsbury's and Marks n Spencer yes.
Also not the Co op.
Anyone buying the watercress seeds, please post photos!

No Sainsbury's or Co-op here, Marks and Spencer's a once or twice a year thing (none nearer than 90K). It could be Tesco, I used to go there for their meal deals for movie nights, but my general memory of them is that I avoided their 'fresh' stuff as it tended to be old and overpriced. Could be I suppose, but Lidl would still be my first guess. I'm sure their offerings vary country to country.

Or maybe Supervalu, we had one for a while, expensive but good quality.

I am in the East Midlands and struggle to buy watercress. Sometimes Waitrose has it and sometimes M&S have it but nowhere else seems to.

I love it. I make soup with it, watercress roulade, have it in sandwiches, salads etc.

The small stuff is mustard and cress and is nice but doesn't really have much taste

I rather like the tiny stuff too, but haven't seen it for years. It used to be available everywhere.

Just as a further moan I used to get redcurrants in Super Valu to add to summer pudding but haven't seen them for ages. I should get a plant.

That is true re Lidl' s different offerings in different countries. Was very excited to find organic oats in Lidl Ireland last year, but couldn't find kefir.

My Gran used to bring a great bag of dried dillisk over in the summer that she'd bought out west somewhere and I never asked her where from.
I did look for it last summer and could not find. Does anyone know?

The only place I've seen dillisk is in health food shops. SuperValu used to sell Carrageen Moss a few years ago. Not sure if they still do.

Your word is my command, Villagetoraiseachild 😀
Dillisk 40g - Wild Irish Seaweed | Organic Irish Seaweed Products (wildirishseaweeds.com)
We used to have it in sandwiches, like a wild version of crisp sandwiches I suppose..

a propos of dillisk, do any of yiz remember the old song:

At the Ould Lammas Fair boys were you ever there
Were you ever at the Fair In Ballycastle-O?
Did you treat your Mary Ann
To some Dulse and Yellow Man*
At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O

*dillisk
**'yallaman' - a sticky toffee

Oh my .... Dilisk 😍
I used to go collecting it from Tramore beach with my uncle, he'd cook up a big pot of deliciousness 😋 happy memories! Thanks 😃

Unfortunately I've no idea if you can still collect it from beaches, or any idea how to cook it.

Don't know that song, but do remember it was also called dulse.

One of my childhood ambitions was to go to the Lammas fair . My really deprived childhood. Because my granny's heritage was from assorted provinces my mother had learned to make champ boxty and colcannon.
I had carageen a few years ago at a fancy restaurant. I was only there because dh had a spare seat at a work thing. I think it came with early season rhubarb. Im not a fan of dulse.

I must have a look for dilisk next time I'm out in Tramore. When I was young I used to pick it at a local shore near where I grew up in rural coastal Galway. The sea water was very clean back then, I believe it still is.

We had carrigeen in cookery class when I was in school, put food colouring into it - vile stuff. I've made bread using dilisk in the past.

Cnocán na Biolraí = Watergrasshill

Well Holy Moly! That's interesting.

I went into the Quay Co op. The lady said she had never seen watercress. I looked sad and bought a bar of artisan soap.
Our greengrocer closed about 15 years ago. Our farmers market closed. And our neighbourfood thing closed.
But I can buy frozen breakfast pastries in 4 different supermarkets.

My god there is a worldwide shortage.
I did buy the mixed bags from Lidl and such, but the actual amount of watercress is pathetic
I really don't understand why it's not more widely available, it's odd.