Magnolias

Vine Crops

©2006 Clove Garden

• General & History
• Using Cucumbers - flavor & Texture
• Varieties
• Health Considerations - and nutrition
• Links - to information on Squash

Cucumbers are probably native to northern India and were cultivated there and in Western Asia well over 3000 years ago. They were much favored by the Romans who spread them to other parts of Europe but they didn't get to England until about the 14th century and have to be grown in hothouses there. Cucumbers arrived in the Americas in the early 16th century. When they arrived in China and Japan is uncertain but is thought to be somewhat later than their arrival in Rome.

The durable "green blimp" cucumbers we are accustomed to in the U.S. are a relatively recent development. In earlier times cucumbers were similar to the Persian and often thinner and longer.

Besides the fruits, which botanists call a "modified berry", young shoots and leaves of the vine can be cooked and eaten as greens.

There are two locations of flavor in cucumbers, the skin and the seed mass. Sample an over-ripe cucumber and you'll find the slightly yellow seed mass to have a stronger and quite distinctly cucumber flavor. Personally I don't mind that flavor, in moderation, but some people don't like it.

You'll find many sources telling you English cucumbers have more flavor than the standard garden cucumber. Peel them both and you'll find the garden cuke more flavorful, it's just that the English doesn't have to be peeled and the thick bitter skin of the garden variety does.

A better compromise is to use Persian or Japanese cucumbers which have thin non-bitter skin but enough seed mass to be more flavorful than the English. Unfortunately they don't keep and have to be used within a few of days. Kerbys are midway between in seediness, bitterness and toughness of skin and also are not waxed.

for best flavor the seed mass should be included in recipes if possible. This is not possible in cases where the liquid will bleed out and dilute the recipe - then the seeds must be scooped out. When I do this I scrape the seeds into a bowl, add some salt and eat the seed mass as a snack while I cook.

Recipes that call for seeding cukes usually presume the big "green blimps" but if you use Persians or Japanese cucumbers you probably won't have to seed them (or peel them) and flavor will be better.

Cucumber (standard issue) - [Garden Cucumber, Market Cucumber, Green Blimp, Cucumis sativus]
These cucumbers are grown on fully functional vines with both male and female flowers so they have a large seed mass and plenty of seeds. Consequently they have more real cucumber flavor than seedless varieties.

The skin is fairly tough and bitter so they are almost always peeled. Since they'll be peeled anyway growers seal them with a heavy coating of wax for longer storage - they'll last at least two weeks in the fridge. You do want to peel them because you don't know who sponsored the FDA studies certifying that wax as "edible".

Size varies widely but the photo specimen is 9-1/4 inches long, 2-3/8 inches diameter and weighed 1-1/4 pounds. A more typical supermarket size would likely be 12 ounces to a pound but 2 pounders are often available at produce markets. The cut one was picked quite young so the seeds are immature and the seed mass is relatively small. When cucumbers become over-ripe they start to yellow, the seeds start to harden and the seed mass gets a stronger flavor.

Armenian Cucumber
Not a cucumber, it's a Melon.

Beijing Cucumber - [Peking Cucumber]
Though it looks sort of like an overgrown European cucumber with tiny white spine spots all over it, the Beijing is not "seedless". It can, in fact have a higher proportion of seed mass than a garden cucumber does, improving the flavor over seedless varieties.

The skin is very thin and they are not waxed so you don't have to peel them, but it means they will spoil quickly so use them right away. The larger photo specimen was 19 inches long, 2 inches diameter and weighed 1 pound 6 ounces. So far these are available in only a few of the East / Southeast Asian markets in Los Angeles and prices are still a quite high - about US $1.19/# while Persians can be had here for 69 cents/# and gardens for less than 25 cents/# in season.

Dosakai - [Lemon Cucumber, Cucumis. sativus]
These cucumbers get their name from being about the size and shape of a lemon, and bright yellow varieties are popular in India. The photo specimens are green with whole or broken stripes, the variety grown in Southern California. They are seldom available even in Indian markets and are sold at a high price so they're more a curiosity than practical ingredient right now.

English Cucumber - [#4593, Hothouse Cucumber, Burpless Cucumber, Seedless Cucumber, European Cucumber, Cucumis sativus]
This is a variety of the European Cucumber selected for large size and straightness. This makes them more economical to shrink wrap in plastic to extend their shelf life. The photo specimen was fairly typical at 14-1/2 inches long, 1-3/4 inches diameter at the thickest point and weighed 14 ounces. See European Cucumber for all further details.

European Cucumber - [English Cucumber, Hothouse Cucumber, Burpless Cucumber, Seedless Cucumber, Cucumis sativus]
These cucumbers are grown on vines that produce only female flowers. Since the flowers have no way to get knocked up they produce seedless fruit. Seeds are expensive because to produce them rare vines that have one or more male flowers must be found.

Growing the vines take special care and even in California they have to be grown in hothouses or screened buildings. Care must be taken that bees and other pollinating insects cannot access the flowers. Should a bee that has visited sexually functional cucumber plants outside get in, seeds will will develop.

These cucumbers are never waxed because with so thin a skin these cukes are normally not peeled. This makes them highly perishable due to dehydration and consequent rot. Southern California high volume produce markets sell them and call them "European Cucumber". Larger straighter varieties are shrink wrapped in plastic for longer shelf life so they can be shipped to distant markets and are called English Cucumbers.

The larger of the photo specimens was 13 inches long (uncurled) 1-3/4 inches diameter at the thickest point and weighed 10 ounces. Typical shrink wrapped specimens are a little bigger but generally weigh less than a pound. Details and Cooking.

Gherkin - True - [West Indian Gherkin, Cucumis anguria]
True Gherkins are a small non-sativa cucumber apparently originating in African but cultivated mainly in the Caribbean region. It is generally pickled, for which it is picked very small because if it gets much over 1-1/2 inches it becomes spiky and bitter.

In the U.S. this plant is grown in gardens for private use in Florida and exists as isolated patches as weeds in several other states including a county each in California and Texas. It is not considered an aggressive weed and seeds are available from suppliers.

Gherkin - Cucumber - [Cornichon (French), Cucumis sativa]
Any tiny immature cucumber used for pickling, generally less than three inches long. Since few people have ever seen a real gherkin this naming has been a successful subterfuge.

India has become a major grower and pickler of these cucumbers taking advantage of low labor rates but this industry is ecologically questionable and there have been contract abuses as well. The photo specimens are from Bulgaria with the largest measuring 2-7/8 inch long, 7/8 inch diameter and weighing 5/8 ounce.

Gherkin - Indian
It's a gourd - see Tindora.

Hothouse Cucumber - see European, Persian and Mediterranean Cucumbers. In most regions it means specifically the "English" packaging of the European cucumber..

Japanese Cucumber
Not seedless but with much fewer seeds than garden cucumbers, Japanese cucumbers are sold unwaxed. They are generally dark green with bumpy skins and may have white spine dots. They are similar to the Persian cucumber but much larger and most varieties are sturdy enough to be grown in open fields in California.. There are a number of varieties ranging up to three feet long and 2 inches in diameter but the most popular are about 8 inches long and very straight. Millions are grown in Southern California but they are rarely seen in markets because our thousands of sushi bars (most of which, to the distress of the Japanese, are run by Koreans now) consume the crop. Photo "borrowed" from Kitazawa Seed Co., Oakland CA.

Kirby Cucumber - [Liberty Cucumber, Pickle, Cucumus sativus]
You can't pickle a waxed cucumber so these are never waxed. That means you can eat them skins-on but also they will spoil quickly - even in the fridge they'll start getting slimy in just a few days. Peeled they have a little less flavor than the Green Blimps because the seed mass is so immature - they're often picked so young they look almost "seedless".

These vary greatly in size depending on how young they're picked. The largest of the photo specimens was 5-1/4 inches long, 2 inches in diameter and weighed 7-3/8 ounces. The smallest was 3-1/2 inches long, 1-3/8 inch diameter at the big end and weighed 1-3/4 ounces.

The skin is a bit tougher than that of the seedless varieties (though not bitter) so for some uses you may wish to peel them, or they may be partially peeled to decorative effect. They do well in salads and for cooking.as well as for pickling.

Mediterranean Cucumber - [Cucumis sativus]
A mostly seedless cucumber normally sold unwaxed, so you can eat them skin-on. It's much shorter and straighter than the European Cucumber but has a much better flavor because the seed mass is proportionally larger - despite having no seeds to speak of. They're generally about 6 inches long, 1-1/4 inches in diameter and weighed about 3 oz.

Some of the hassles of growing European cucumbers apply as well to the Mediterranean - they need special handling of the vine and are generally grown in hothouses even in California. They're too small to be efficiently shrink wrapped so they're probably not available in many areas. Here in Southern California, produce markets have big heaps of them, often priced as low as $0.69 or $0.79 per pound and they sell very well.

Peking Cucumber - See Beijing Cucumber.

Persian Cucumber - [Cucumis sativus]
A mostly seedless cucumber normally sold unwaxed, so you can eat them skin-on. In Southern California produce markets Persians alternate with Mediterranean cucumbers, though I'm not sure they don't just change the sign now and then, or perhaps different growers use alternate names - they look and taste pretty much the same. The last batch I bought labeled "Persian" averaged 5-1/4 inches long, 1-1/8 inches in diameter and weighed about 2 oz.

The hassles of growing Mediterranean cucumbers apply as well to the Persian - they need special handling of the vine and are most often grown in hothouses even in California. They're too small to be efficiently shrink wrapped so they're probably not available in all areas.

Pickle - [Cucumis sativus]
While many vegetables are pickled, the cucumber so dominates the form it's the one you can call just "pickle" without a modifier. The cucumbers used are Kirby type or similar in the U.S. but other varieties may be used elsewhere.

"Quick pickles" are made with cucumbers, a vinegar brine and spices. Natural pickles are made by packing cucumbers with water and salt to naturally ferment and make their own sourness. They are then cleaned up and processed with spices and other ingredients depending on what style pickle you're making.

Wild Cucumber - West Coast - [Cucamonga Manroot, Marah macrocarpus: California Manroot, Marah fabaceus: other Marah species]
These perennial cucumbers are quite different from Cucumis cucumbers in the way the fruit functions. Rather than fleshy, the fruit is spiny and dry. When ripe it dries completely and splits at the end to spill the large seeds out. The fruit is not eaten and some say the unripe seeds may be "mind altering" but I haven't tried to find out. California Manroot is found over most of the state while Cucamonga Manroot is found over most or Southern California down to Baja.

All parts of the plant are bitter but the leaves have reportedly been used as a vegetable. The root tubers can weigh well over 200 pounds and were crushed by Native Americans for a toxin to stun fish with so you probably don't want to try eating them. A soap-like substance has been extracted from the roots. The plants on my property didn't get rain at the right time last winter and set no fruit so I had to borrow a photo. Photo by Curtis Clark distributed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5.

Wild Cucumber - Other
"Wild Cucumber" is a name used commercially for the Armenian Cucumber. There is also an African Wild Cucumber (Cucumis africanus) which looks a lot like the California item but they're not closely related and the African one is edible, fruit and leaves.

Health & Nutrition

Cucumbers are largely water and eaten at an early stage where their seeds are immature and haven't developed much protein. They aren't nutrition powerhouses but they do have a broad range of vitamins and minerals in significant amounts and they are very low in calories and fat.

Way back in the early '70s I used to get a nutritional publication from one of Ralph Nader's organizations. Ralph was saying pickles should be taken off the market because of their cost / nutritional content ratio was so low. The vitamin C content is degraded by pickling but some other nutrients may become more available - but I really don't think people are eating pickles for their nutritional value, Ralph. They eat them for taste.

• C1 - Cucurbit Botanical Info. - Cucurbit.org