There is something about watercress that evokes images of bunches grown on small farms amid quintessential English countryside, then tied with rubber bands. In fact, some 90 per cent of the watercress in our shops is sold in bags and grown by two concerns, the Watercress Company and Vitacress.

These organisations are, however, made up of individual farms where families have been producing watercress since the height of its popularity in the 1800s, when it was first farmed commercially and transported to London by train along “the Watercress Line”, from Alresford, Hampshire. Some 150 years later, however, watercress was thought dated, so, four years ago, the Watercress Alliance was formed. The alliance has promoted the flavour and health benefits of watercress, and even introduced a festival. Now, the UK market is worth £55 million.

HOW IS IT GROWN?
Rooted in shallow gravel beds, watered by clear water which comes up from chalk downs through natural springs or bore holes and flows through the beds at around 5,000 gallons per acre per hour. While major producers now supplement English crops with those from farms in Florida, Portugal and Spain, some independent producers, such as John Hurd, who farms eight acres in Wiltshire organically, still grow with the seasons.

SHOULD YOU BUY ORGANIC?
According to Charles Barter, MD of the Watercress Company, even conventional farmers have stopped using pesticides.

WHERE TO BUY
John Hurd’s Organic Watercress (www.organic-watercress.co.uk) is available at Waitrose. For further details of the May festival visit www.watercress.co.uk.

Readers’ queries

Can you buy dried buttermilk in the UK?

It’s used in home-baking in the US, but here is impossible to find outside the catering industry. However, cultured liquid buttermilk is available from supermarkets.

If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk.

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