Uncooked: All about cucumbers
Cucumbers belong to the cucurbit family and are originally from India and Africa. Since the 19th century, they are also grown in northern Europe. The most well-known are Cucumbers (1), also called green cucumbers or snake cucumbers. They are 30 to 40 cm long and grow almost year-round in the greenhouse only, as they require warm temperatures to grow. Harvested and eaten, the cucumbers are in immature condition. They would be yellow, mature. As long as only unripe cucumbers are harvested, the cucumber plant is constantly producing new fruits. Cucumbers contain about 97 percent of water, which is only about 10 kcal per 100 g, but many vitamins, such as A, B1 and C, and minerals such as potassium, calcium and iron. All the good things are right under the shell. That's why cucumbers are particularly worth buying organic quality. Cucumbers taste pure with some salt or as a salad with vinaigrette or yogurt marinade best.
A special kind of cucumber is the Mini cucumber (2), which is only about 15 cm long and weighs a maximum of 250 g. It is also called breakfast cucumber and has a fine, pronounced taste and firm pulp.
Braised, peeled or open-air cucumbers (3) are harvested in the field from mid-July to the end of September. They are considerably thicker than cucumbers and are harvested ripe with white-yellowish color. Schmorgurken have a relatively firm, less water-rich pulp and are ideal for stewing and cooking.
However, about 80 percent of the cucumbers grown in Germany are Casserole cucumbers (4), They also belong to the cucumbers, but are not eaten raw, but pickled or fermented lactic acid. The largest specimens are so-called industrial cucumbers, which are peeled and cut into pieces to make mustard, Asian or honey cucumbers. This is followed by delicatessen cucumbers (9 to 12 cm in length) and cornichons. These cucumbers are usually processed into gherkins, so preserved over lactic acid fermentation. They still contain all the vitamins, the fermentation also produces vitamin B12. Pickling cucumbers are available between mid-August and mid-September.
Cucumbers should not be stored too cold (fridge) and not near tomatoes or apples, then they will quickly overripe and spoil. At about 12 degrees and slightly moist, they stay fresh for a week. For the bitter taste, which occurs mainly on the stem approach, the substance Elaterimid is responsible. Through breeding it was achieved that there are now almost only bitter-free varieties.
Since cucumbers are cultivated all over the world, there are a number of exotic specimens, eg. B. the Japanese Kuri cucumbers. They look like cucumbers, but they clearly taste like fish. The round African wild cucumber Kiwano has a red spiky skin and resembles a passion fruit from the inside. The loofah cucumber is eaten only immature, ripe it is used as a bath sponge.
