Kai for thought: Kōwhitiwhiti (watercress)

Kai (food) has a special role in connecting people and bridging cultures in Aotearoa New Zealand. Many plants and kaimoana (seafood) we enjoy today have been staples in the Māori diet for hundreds of years. Māori innovation and Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) have guided the cultivation and harvest of culturally significant foods for generations.

Kōwhitiwhiti (watercress)

USE Traditionally, it could be eaten raw or used to wrap food. Kōwhitiwhiti (or pūhā) is also a common ingredient for the preserved dish toroi. The vegetables are cooked together with kūtai (mussels) and stored in jars to undergo fermentation. Today kōwhitiwhiti is commonly cooked as a vegetable in hāngī. Māori use kōwhitiwhiti roots for skin rashes, scabies and boils. Damp kōwhitiwhiti was also used as a cloth and applied to the head for headaches.

Kōwhitiwhiti and pūhā are used interchangeably in some recipes. Kōwhitiwhiti is a leafy vegetable with a mild mustard flavour that grows on the edge of freshwater rivers, streams and creeks around the country.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE Kōwhitiwhiti is high in folate, provitamin A carotenoids and vitamin C, which are important for normal vision, skin and immunity.

For more on the nutrient content of these foods and over 2,700 commonly prepared and eaten foods in New Zealand, visit the New Zealand Food Composition Database at foodcomposition.co.nz. To learn more about Māori traditional and contemporary interests in plant and kaimoana, check out some of the Māori organisations Plant & Food Research has supported in these areas: Wakatū, Tuaropaki and Ngati Porou Miere.