Vegetable Profile: Cucumbers

We have two types of cucumbers on the farm, and three different varieties. The two types are pickling and slicing. Of the pickling type, we have two varieties, the traditional green and a whitish-yellowish variety called “salt and pepper.” There are differences between the two types, but from a culinary perspective they are very interchangeable. Pickling cucumbers tend to be smaller, making them a convenient size for putting in a jar and turning into pickles. Slicing cucumbers have a lightly tougher skin and are smoother. Cucumbers are in the plant family Cucurbitaceae which also includes squash and melons. The cucumber supposedly originated in India, approximately 3,000 years ago. Most, but not all, types of cucumbers require insects to pollinate the flowers, which then develop to produce the “fruit” or cucumber. We try to give them to you in your share nice and clean, but you might just find a cucumber that still has the shriveled, dried flower petal remains stuck on the end of the cucumber.