Maker · Vegetables
Cresco
A family nursery from the Westland that started with cress and now supplies cresses, microgreens and edible flowers with consistent length, colour and flavour batch after batch.
The story
Who's behind it
Cresco is a family nursery from Honselersdijk in the heart of the Westland. It started with garden cress. The Prins family won first prize with it at the 1960 Floriade, with the principle "from seed to strength" on the entry. That cress is still there, but the range has grown alongside the kitchen. The fourth generation now runs the business and they grow cresses, microgreens, organic culinary herbs, edible flowers and sea vegetables under the banner Taste of the Sea.
For clarity: Cresco is an own brand and own nursery, not resale from someone else. What reaches your plate comes from their own cultivation in the Westland.
What makes it truly different
The cultivation revolves around control. Light, water and temperature are adjusted separately per variety and tracked daily. The result is that a box of popcorn shoots in January has the same length, colour and flavour as in June. For you, the key point is knowing exactly what you cut and how many plates you can get from it. No batch that suddenly turns out longer, paler or more insipid than the last.
The culinary herbs carry the EKO certification, so they're grown organically. And because the nursery is in the Westland, the distances are short: picked, packed and on the road without days of transit time. You notice that in the freshness when you open the box.
How to set yourself apart with this
Cress and microgreens are finishing, but they do more than look good. Popcorn shoots give a lightly sweet corn tone and stay crisp without wilting quickly. Garden cress puts a sharp, peppery point on something fatty or creamy. A cress mix brings colour and variety in bite without sacrificing any of the flavour.
Use them functionally, not as garnish. Choose a variety because it adds something to the taste of the dish, not because there needs to be some more green on it. When you get the same consistent quality each time, you can build a finishing touch into a dish and make it taste the same year-round. That's precisely what Cresco's controlled cultivation is aiming for: no surprises on the plate, only the right kind.
Chef’s tip
Cut cress and microgreens only at the last moment and lay them loose on the plate, not into it. In hot fat or under a sauce they wilt within minutes and you lose exactly the crunch and colour you bought them for.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Popcorn shoots with smoked trout
The lightly sweet corn tone of the shoots sets itself apart from the smokiness of the fish and keeps its crunch on a cold plate.
Garden cress over a soft egg
A sharp, peppery point atop something creamy. Works just as well on potato cream or fresh cheese.
Cress mix on beef tartare
Different leaves for colour and bite, without losing any of the flavour of the meat beneath.
Edible flowers on a fresh dessert
Colour and a subtle touch on sorbet or panna cotta, picked and delivered from the same nursery.
For your menu
“Beef tartare with garden cress and popcorn shoots from Cresco in the Westland”
Products from Cresco
What we carry from this maker
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Taste it in your own kitchen
Book a no-obligation tasting with Niels. No contract, just tasting.