Cress Seed

Garden cress is a fast-growing annual herb of the mustard family, reaching about half a metre, with delicate pinnate leaves and small white flowers. The seeds are tiny, narrow, oval and reddish brown, about two to three millimetres long. When soaked in water they produce a clear, sticky mucilage, much like chia or flax.

The seeds have a sharp, peppery, mustard-like flavour. They are sold whole in Indian groceries as halim or aliv, and as sprouting seeds, from which the familiar cress sprouts for salads and sandwiches are grown within a week. Cress oil is also pressed from the seeds on a small scale.

Garden cress is native to western Asia and Egypt, and it has been grown in the Mediterranean and the Middle East since antiquity. It spread across Europe, South Asia and later to the Americas as a salad herb and medicinal plant.

The genus name Lepidium comes from the Greek lepis, meaning scale, probably referring to the shape of the seed pods. The English word cress is Germanic and relates to creeping or crawling, perhaps for its vigorous growth. Halim is the Hindi name, and the Arabic name habb el rashad means seed of the right path or growth.

Garden cress is among the oldest known salad plants. Greek and Roman writers such as Xenophon mention that Persians ate it, and the Romans valued it. In medieval Europe, cress was a common potherb and was grown in monasteries.

In the Middle East and South Asia the seeds have been valued in traditional medicine. In Ayurveda the seeds, called chandrashoor or halim, are thought to be warming and are given to new mothers, mixed into sweets and laddoos in states such as Maharashtra. Unani practitioners used them as a tonic. In Ethiopia and Arabia, the seeds have been used in food and medicine.

In Britain and Europe, mustard and cress, grown on damp flannel or paper, became a favourite children's windowsill project and a fixture of tea sandwiches in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Scientific interest in the seeds has grown, with reviews examining their fatty acids and fibre, while health claims remain largely based on traditional use and animal studies.

Cress seeds are sprouted for salads and sandwiches, with the young shoots ready in about a week. In India, roasted seeds are mixed with jaggery, nuts and coconut in laddoos and puddings, particularly for new mothers, or soaked and added to milk or water. The mucilage can thicken drinks.

The seeds can also be ground as a pungent seasoning. Oil pressed from the seeds has been used for lamps and in traditional medicine. Leaves are eaten raw in salads, soups and sauces for their peppery bite.

Garden cress seeds contain protein, fibre, iron, folate and omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, and they are notable for relatively high iron content compared with many seeds. They are traditionally believed to support lactation and recovery after childbirth, but human trials are limited, so this remains a traditional use rather than a proven effect.

Laboratory and animal research has examined effects on blood sugar, lipids and inflammation. These results are preliminary. Cress seeds are best seen as a traditional, nutrient-dense food ingredient.