[1] Cucumber hummus stacks. For variety, there are many other fillers (photo © Willow Tree Farm).
[2] Fancy or casual roulades: julienned cucumbers rolled in prosciutto. You can soak the cucumbers in gin! Here’s the recipe from Parma Crown (photo © Parma Crown).
[3] Cucumbers, yogurt, garlic, and dill are the ingredients of Greek tzatziki, but can also be served as a dip (photo © Ausport | Australia).
[4] Chilled cucumber soup is a summer refresher. Here’s a recipe for Chilled Cucumber Yogurt Soup (photo © Chocolate Lab |San Francisco [now closed]).
[5] Cucumber ice pops, here accented with green tea and mint. Here’s the recipe from Cake Over Steak (photo © Cake over Steak).
[6] Spiralized cucumber salad with sesame. Here’s the recipe from Bowl Of Delicious (photo © Bowl of Delicious).
[7] These heirloom cucumbers have a yellow peel, not green (photo © Baldor Specialty Food).
[8] You may be able to find Armenian cucumbers at a farmers’ market—or grow your own. Its creamy flesh has good crunch, superb flavor, and few seeds (photo © Burpee).
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June 13th is National Cucumber Day. In the U.S., cucumbers are eaten raw as crudités, in green salads, as pickles, and as sushi rolls (kappa maki).
But what else can you do with them? Here are nine more ways to go beyond “the usual.”
While it is natural to buy the largest cucumbers to “get your money’s worth,” smaller cucumbers are more tender.
Should you peel them? It’s a question of how tough the peel is. Chew a slice with the peel on to decide. One of the things that we like to do is make vertical stripes with a vegetable peeler.
After you check out the different ways to use cucumbers, take a look at the different types of cucumbers.
And don’t overlook the history of cucumbers, below, plus these heirloom cucumbers.
June is National Cucumber Month and June 14th is National Cucumber Day.
The history of cucumbers is below.
1. CUCUMBER APPETIZERS
Fancy cooks have long used cucumber slices as a base for hors d’oeuvre, instead of bread or crackers. Just add the topping.
With thicker slices, you can scoop out a well in the center to stuff crab salad, goat cheese, etc.
Or, make cucumber stacks: “sandwich” bites filled with chicken salad, hummus, olive cream cheese, or whatever you like.
Here are two recipes to start you off:
Stuffed Cucumber Bites
Cucumber-Prosciutto Roulades
2. CUCUMBER DRINKS
Use cucumbers in cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. Serve cucumber water often!
The details and recipes are here.
Cucumber Herb Wine Spritz
Cucumber Lemonade
Cucumber Lemonade With Gin
Cucumber Mary & Garden Cocktail
Cucumber Mint Fruit Cooler
Cucumber Tequila Cocktail
Cucumber Water
Home-Infused Cucumber Vodka & An Easy Cocktail
Spicy Cucumber Iced Tea
Watermelon Cucumber Cooler
3. CUCUMBER ICE
Make cucumber sorbet or ice pops. There are many recipes for both, accenting with coconut water, lemon, lime, matcha tea, or mint.
Here’s a recipe to start you off (photo #5).
4. CUCUMBER PICKLES WITH GLOBAL FLAVORS
You don’t need to put them up in Mason jars: Recipes for quick pickles abound.
By changing spices and vinegar types, you can create delightful “signature pickles.”
Look at your spice shelf, pass by the conventional pickling spices, and go for it. Cayenne? Cumin? Curry?
5. CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
Cucumber sandwiches on buttered bread are a perennial feature of afternoon tea. Use good butter and bread, and they’re delicious.
Use cucumber slices like iceberg lettuce, to add crunch to a sandwich.
Check out these cucumber sandwich recipes.
6. CUCUMBER SAUCES & DIPS
Cucumber and yogurt are served as sides to grilled meats. The two most famous:
Raita, from India (recipe).
Tzatziki, from Greece (recipe).
The major difference is the seasoning: garlic, cumin, and cayenne for raita; garlic and dill for tzatziki.
You can thin either of these for dips.
7. CUCUMBER SIDES & SALADS
You can grill cucumbers, stuff and bake them, or dredge them in cornmeal and fry them. Serve those with lemon wedges and ketchup!
Asian Cucumber Salad
Cucumber & Melon Salad With Lemon & Mint
Cucumber & Watercress Salad
Low-Calorie Cucumber “Submarine Sandwiches
Greek Salad #1
Greek Salad #2
Israeli Salad
Low-Calorie Cucumber Salad Recipes
Strawberry & Cucumber Salad
8. CUCUMBER SOUP
Chilled cucumber soup, like vichyssoise, has long been made in France with a base of cream.
With the growth of yogurt fans in the 1980s, Americans have embraced soups with a yogurt base.
Use lots of garlic and dill, and garnish with chopped scallion. Here’s a recipe.
There are many cucumber gazpacho recipes. This chunky cucumber gazpacho is topped with shrimp and cantaloupe or mango.
Garnishes or mix-ins for cucumber soup include avocado, feta, fresh herbs, garlic, red onion or shallots, and tomato.
Try this Gazpacho Verde recipe.
9. MARINATED CUCUMBERS
Leave the salad greens behind, and create salads with cucumbers and vinegar.
Israeli salad, a combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and parsley, is one of our favorites (here’s a recipe)
Asian cucumber salads are sweet-and-sour. Try this recipe for starters.
Our own recipe for Greek-style cucumber salad: thinly-sliced tomatoes, marinated in wine vinegar; thinly-sliced red onion; halved cherry tomatoes; drizzled with olive oil and topped with kalamata olives and diced feta.
We keep containers of it in the fridge all summer long. If you store it, hold the feta until you’re ready to serve.
And those of you with spiralizers: Make cucumber “zoodle” salad (photo #6).
CUCUMBER HISTORY
The cucumber originated in India and was cultivated more than 4000 years ago. Easy to cultivate, it spread to other parts of the Pacific.
By the first century B.C.E., it was traded to ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle East, and modern-day Bulgaria and Serbia.
The march of the cucumber was global. It is the fourth most widely cultivated vegetable in the world [source].
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