The cucumber has been cultivated in Asia for 3000 years. Spreading from India, it traveled to China, Greece and Italy, appearing in the 9th century in France, it spread to England in the 14th century and to North America in the 1500′s.
When preparing cucumbers for a salad, you may wish cut off the blossom end as this part of the cucumber may be taste bitter. The world’s largest cucumber was grown in 1988 Australia. It weighed in at 59 pounds. However, small cucumbers are preferred for making pickles. The sweet gherkin, from the German word for cucumber; ‘gurke’ is made of very small cucumbers.
As the cucumber grows, it ripens; turning yellow, soft, full of mature seeds, and coarse, becoming less attractive as a food. Cucumbers are a source of vitamin A and C, Molybdenum, potassium, manganese, tryptophan, and dietary fiber. Dill pickles have similar nutritional values to cucumbers with the addition of 660mg of sodium per pickle.
