Cucumber
Cucumis sativus · Fruit vegetable
5 varietiesTop 10 pairings
A long, dark-green gourd, cool, watery and crisp, with an almost melon-like snap, and one of the most widely grown vegetables. Prized for crunch over flavour, it is eaten raw in salads and pickled by the billions.
Picking a good onedrag
Field firmSoft and yellow
Shop freshBuy itFirm and green — anything a cucumber does
SkinEven green, taut
FleshFirm, springs back
Cut endDry scar, firm around it
SmellClean, faintly green
What you get from one
97%
Edible part
216 g · ends trimmed
223 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Long below 10°C, it pits and collapses. Four days chilled is fine if you use it straight after.
95%
Humidity
Still
Airflow