Cucumber “Cucumis sativus” is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). It is a creeping vine that bears cucumiform fruits that are used as vegetables. There are three main varieties of cumbers: slicing, pickling, and seedless. Cucumbers are high in nutrients, low in calories, and high in many important vitamins and minerals. They contain antioxidants, promote hydration, may aid in weight loss, may lower blood sugar, and they could help promote regularity. Luckily, cucumbers are easy to add to your diet.
Did you know the internal temperature of a cucumber is twenty degrees cooler than the air around it? Thus the birth of the phrase, “cool as a cumber” which has been around and used since at least the early 1700s.
If you’re wondering what type of cucumber you should buy, if it’s dark green, about 8 inches long, and fairly smooth it’s especially for eating fresh. Pickling cucumbers are shorter, fatter, lighter green, and have a lumpy surface. They make the best pickles.
Fun Facts
- Treat puffy eyes by covering them with just cut chilled slices for 15 minutes.
- Fight oily skin by pureeing or grating half a cucumber and spreading is over the face and neck. Keep it on for 15 minutes.
- Stop itching from sunburn, poison ivy, or bug bites by leaving chilled slices over an affected area for 10 minutes.
- Cucumbers are also a green way to clean and eliminate streaks.
- Rub a cut slice over your faucets or stainless steel sinks for a fresh, streak-free way to shine them up.
- Works on shoes too.
- If your kids have created artwork on your walls with pens, markers, or crayons, just use the outside of an unwaxed cucumber to erase it.
Southern gardens are rarely without a row of cukes. Whether they are in a salad, soothing your body, or helping keep the house tidy, they are a secret weapon for keeping cool inside or out.
Mary Ann Steele
Somervell County Master Gardener