It's getting near the end of the season for water pepper so while out recently we decided to pick some for a little culinary experiment
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The banks are still full of this spicy plant but it is starting to wilt and the taste to fade, so we picked some to dry it out to see if we could use it as a hot herb.
A few good handfulls picked and brought home with us to dry out.
Nibbling at it raw produces a real spicy punch, some say like wasabi but I think it's more burn like a chilli, this sensation is caused by a compound called Polygodial.
A few hours in the dehydrator and we cut it up into a fine herb and tried it out
... and there was nothing !! The whole hot burny taste had gone, drying this herb is of no use and if you want that kick it's best to eat it raw. Cooking with it can reduce the potency of the burn also but not to the same extent as drying.
The best thing to do with it is cut it up finely when raw, let it marinade in soy sauce for a day then sprinkle it over fried rice, it gives a fantastic spicy pungency to any exotic rice dish.
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