Maker Β· Vegetables
Cresco
A family nursery from the Westland that started with garden 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. They still grow garden cress, and 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.
Cresco is its own brand with its own nursery. What reaches your plate comes from their own cultivation in the Westland.
How they grow
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. So you know what you're cutting and how many plates you'll get from it.
The culinary herbs have EKO certification, so they're grown organically. Because the nursery is in the Westland, the lines are short: picked, packed and quickly on the road.
In your kitchen
Popcorn shoots give a lightly sweet corn note and stay crisp for a long time. Garden cress puts a sharp, peppery point on something fatty or creamy. A cress mix brings colour and variety in bite.
Pick a variety for what it adds to the flavour of the dish. Because the quality is consistent, you can make a finishing touch a fixed part of a dish and keep it tasting the same all year.
Chefβs tip
Cut cress and microgreens at the last moment and lay them loosely on top of the plate. That way they keep their crunch and their colour.
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 on top of the meat.
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
βBeef tartare with garden cress and popcorn shoots from Cresco in the Westlandβ
Products from Cresco
What we carry from this maker
Prices and availability are in the portal. Become a customer or log in to order.
Taste it in your own kitchen
Book a no-obligation tasting with Niels and taste it for yourself.