Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
with very thin skins have always been preferred for pickling (the salt can penetrate very
quickly). That leaves cucumbers with thick skins for slicing. Of course, in the kitchen that
doesn't make much sense at all, since thin-skinned cucumbers can be sliced just as easily
as thick-skinned. In general, if you have to choose between cucumbers, pick whichever
ones seem to be in the best condition rather than favoring a certain variety.
One of the great spurs in modern cucumber breeding has been the fruit's unfortunate
effects on the digestive system. Put plainly, cucumbers sometimes make some people burp
... a lot. At one time that burpiness was attributed to the seeds, and a lot of effort went
into growing seedless cucumbers. These varieties have been developed to set fruit without
being pollinated (or even produce almost entirely female flowers). They are cultivated in
bee-free greenhouses (locked away in cucumber convents, as it were) to prevent the pol-
lination that causes seeds. (Grown out-of-doors, these varieties will bear seeded fruit.) Un-
fortunately, although seedless cucumbers do have some culinary merit (the area surround-
ing the seeds in a cucumber is usually unpleasantly soft and watery), they don't help with
indigestion.
Rather, the very bitterness that is so fundamental to cucumber flavor - and is one of
the plant's more interesting traits - is what causes indigestion. The bitterness in cucumbers
comes from compounds called cucurbitacins, which are normally found in high concentra-
tions in the roots, stems and leaves of the cucumber plant rather than the fruit. Cucumbers
are one of the more fragile plants a farmer can grow, susceptible to all kinds of fungi, vir-
uses and insects, and these cucurbitacins serve as a kind of natural pesticide, discouraging
many bugs from munching away. However, one bug, the cucumber beetle, has evolved
with a resistance to the poisonous effects of cucurbitacins. In fact, it is downright fond of
the flavor. Not only do cucumber beetles love to eat cucumber plants, but they also harbor
harmful bacteria that can cause severe wilt, which can kill the plants. So much for defense
mechanisms.
In most cases, cucurbitacins are not found in the fruit in sufficient quantities to spoil
the taste. But when cucumber plants are stressed - when the weather turns suddenly hot
and dry - they tend to produce fruit that is more bitter. (Perhaps, sensing a threat, the plant
is trying to protect its seeds.) Some varieties are less susceptible to stress than others -
generally look for anything with "sweet" or "burpless" in the name. Unfortunately, these
also taste pretty bland.
Fortunately, you can choose more flavorful varieties and take care of much of the
burpiness in the kitchen. Cucurbitacins tend to be concentrated just under the skin and
around the stem of the cucumber. So you can reduce (if not eliminate) burpiness by
