Photograph from foodista on Flickr With summer in full swing, my cucumber intake has increased to alarming levels. In salads, soups, or just as a raw snack, the crisp crunch they add to a dish instantly cools me down, a brief relief from my steam room of an apartment. When at the market, look for firm specimens with a medium to dark green color. I prefer the smaller ones as they're less bitter and be sure to stay away from any yellow bits. Store them covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for about a week or so (avoid the crisper, as it's too cold). If you find yourself unable to eat one more cucumber and want to use it...
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Growing up, there were tons of cucumbers growing in my mom's garden during the summer, so we never really bought them at the supermarket. Given these fortuitous circumstances, I was always a bit confused about the difference between the ones growing in the backyard and the ones at the store. Whereas the store's specimens were smooth and shiny, the ones I brought to the kitchen sink were rough and a bit prickly. I was going to chalk them up as some sort of weird variety of Korean cucumbers, but I did some research and realized that I'd been eating the pickling variety of cucumbers this whole time. Every cuke and pickle I've ever eaten flashed before my eyes as...
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©iStockPhoto/tomazas We're finally starting to get some relief from the summer heat, but I'm still enjoying the cooling flavors of cucumber. I like the Armenian and Japanese varieties best. Both are thin-skinned and don't required seeding. No matter which variety you prefer, look for cucumbers that are relatively small and slender as they'll often be less bitter and have fewer seeds. Cucumber Recipes Homemade Quick Pickles Cucumber Juice [The Kitchn] Cucumber Yogurt Soup Asian Cucumber Ribbon Salad [Epicurious] Roasted Beet and Cucumber Salad with Ricotta Salata Mint and Parsley Salad with Persian Cucumbers [Modern Beet]...
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Heartstick Ojaru, a co-op of nine women in Chiba, Japan, have been selling these cute heart- and star-shaped cucumbers in grocery stores in Tokyo. Plastic molds affixed to the stem shapes the cucumbers into the shapes when sliced cross-wise. The arrangement possibilities, as you can see, are endless. [via Trends in Japan]...
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I wish this was a photo of a bite-size watermelon (I bet they're growing them in Japan), but it's actually a mexican sour cucumber. From what I understand, these are as sour as they are cute....
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