VOM July 2010

Cucumbers - english, armenian, lemon, burpless, pickling

Its summer and nothing is appreciated more than Cool! – So this months Vegetable of the Month (VOM) is the cucumber. Did you know that the expression “cool as a cucumber” has fact behind it – the inside of a cucumber can be as much as 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature! The cucumber is member of the family “Cucurbitaceae” that produces squash, pumpkins and watermelon – all nice relatives, eh? Cucumber plants have large leaves that “canopy” over the fruit and can be grown on a trellis or frame. Cucumber fruit is cylindrical, enlongated with tapered ends. Cucumbers are usually divided into two groups – Slicers and Picklers. Lo-calorie, cucumbers are a good source of Vitamins A & C – calcium and iron.

Culinary wise, we can do so many things with cucumbers. Of course salads, relishes, sauces, pickles, as an appetizer base instead of a cracker, served as a side dish or in a dressing. At their best in summer – choose a cucumber that is enlongated but not too fat around the middle – the larger the circumference the more seeds you will have to deal with. It should be firm to the touch – avoid those with soft spots as it will not keep long. A yellow or white patch of lengthwise color is ok, this indicates that it has been grown on the ground.
Cucumbers match well with many ingredients, but here are some favorites, sour cream and dill, cucumbers and cilantro or dill is a taste treat. Cucumbers in yogurt is a greek tezaki sauce for lamb or pork.
Cucumbers minced with rice vinegar and red pepper flakes are a great asian dipping sauce for potstickers (link) gyoza. Cucumbers match well with cream cheese, feta cheese, garlic, lemon, mint, olive oil, parsley and tomatoes. Shrimp and cucumber in a pasta salad is a cool summer treat.

Historically, cucumbers have been cultivated for at least 3000 years in Asia. The Romans are credited with its distribution to Europe. Early records of cultivation were found in France from the 9th century. North America records show about mid 16th century. The list of varieties world wide is amazing – a small yellowish cucumber melon from India called dosakai to the two foot long “english varieties” – some variety is available year round at your local market.

Interesting Things about Cukes
Cucumbers are highly nutritious and are a good source of sulfur, silicon, chlorine potassium, sodium, magnesium, and fluorine.
Cucumbers are also said to help aid digestion and constipation.
Cucumbers are used by many people on the skin as a beauty aid.
Commercially grown cucumbers are often treated with approved waxes or oils to reduce water loss, reduce abrasion injury and enhance appearance.
Remember “cool as a cucumber” is not just an expression-the fact is the inside of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees F cooler than the outside temperature.
Urban legend practices have arisen with regard to how bitterness may be removed from cucumbers. Among these a very common practice popular in India includes slicing off the ends of a cucumber, sprinkling some salt, and rubbing the now-exposed ends of said cucumber with the sliced-off ends until it appears to froth. Another such says to peel a cucumber away from the attached end.
Romans are reported to have used cucumbers to treat scorpion bites, bad eyesight, and to scare away mice.

Growing cucumbers is fairly easy if you follow a couple of basics. They are not frost tolerant – must be planted when soil temps are 60+ for best germination. The soil must also be well fertilized and deeply as cucumbers are voracious feeders. They also require regular watering – infrequent watering will cause fruit to stunt, yellow or deform all together – remember cucumbers are 90% water. Many varieties can be grown on a trellis or frame type structure – you train the tendril vines up the trellis as they grow. The trellis takes less space in the garden and usually distributes the sunlight more evenly. Cukes do not trail well over weed block fabric (it gets too hot) so cover the weed block with a layer of grass clippings from the mower. This helps preserve the watering, holds the soil temp more evenly and allows the vines to travel more. Usually the larger cucumbers grow, the more likely they are to loose their flavor or even become bitter. Pick them young and slender (they will have less developed seeds and be sweeter) and prompt picking ensures more fruit setting. Another hint is when harvesting – cut the vine just above the cuke itself rather than detaching it at the flower. It will store better this way and helps the plant not lose additional energy. Some varieties, like Armenian cucumbers are a light green, creased lengthwise (and they can be exceptionally long) and have an edible skin – they are actually an undeveloped melon! The varieties you normally see in the produce section are the dark green “burpless”or “straight eight” – and some stores will carry the “english” or seedless cucumbers. The variety “marketmore” variety grow well here, as do the “lemon” cukes.