Why Hampshire is ‘King of the Watercress!’
Peppery watercress is Hampshire’s best-sold crop, easily cooked, so only add at in the last few minutes for recipes. Also popular in Dorset, it was first eaten by the Romans in the first sandwich! Try this 15-minute watercress soup (Salted Mint).
Check medication before consuming watercress (due to vitamin K interactions) and keep away from pets. If growing your own, use no-dig methods to protect wildlife (also read about pet-friendly gardens).
One bag of watercress is sold each second in England. It’s been popular since Roman times, when it was thought to cure everything from baldness to insanity. Or just to freshen breath.
Best enjoyed from April to September, choose strong green leaves for freshness and only wash and shake dry before use. Store in the fridge (ideally in water) and eat within a couple of days.
A former watercress farm near Chichester, is set to become a glamping site. The owners plan to let tourists help themselves, and remaining beds will be turned into wildlife ponds.
Free Watercress on the NHS?
The founder of England’s largest watercress farm eats it each day, as does his family. He’s so passionate about the crop, he arranges a watercress festival in the village of Alresford.
The company is also trialling ‘free watercress soup’ at an NHS hospital,. This could use up 90,000kg of winter watercress that would otherwise go to waste, and serve nutritious tasty food to patients.
M & S recently sold a ‘posh egg cress sandwich’ for £6 with ‘whole sliced egg, fresh baby watercress and mayo on two slices of bread’. It did not take long for comments like ”this country is finished’ and that ‘the word posh costs you 3 quid’.
Winchester (England’s former capital city)
This beautiful Hampshire city (which used to be the capital of England) has a lovely cathedral and castle ruins. The weekly farmers’ market brings local fresh produce to everyone’s table.
Winchester Litter Pickers began with 3 friends, and now has over 30 local volunteers. Areas they clean include outside the cathedral and the area around the railway station. They collect around 1000 bags of litter per year. Volunteers receive litter grabbers and reflective vests.
Regency writer Jane Austen (often more associated with Bath, where she lived) was born in nearby Steventon, where her father was the local vicar. Several of her nephews attended Winchester collage, and she spent her last weeks in the city. She is buried at Winchester cathedral.
Winchester College is up there with Eton, as one of England’s poshest private schools. Founded in 1382, it’s also one of the oldest, and includes a 14th century Gothic chapel, and a schoolroom designed by Sir Christopher Wren (who designed St Paul’s Cathedral in London).
Some well-known pupils who attended here include actor Colin Firth and Tim Brooke-Taylor (former Goodie!)
