Cucumber
Aroma and taste
Lebanese cucumbers are small, smooth-skinned and mild, yet with a distinct flavor and aroma. Like the English cucumber, Lebanese cucumbers are nearly seedless. East Asian cucumbers are mild, slender, deep green, and have a bumpy, ridged skin. They can be used for slicing, salads, pickling, etc., and are available year-round. They are usually burpless as well. Persian cucumber, which are mini, seedless, and slightly sweet, are available from Canada during the summer, and all year-round in the US. Easy to cut and peel, it is on average 4–7 in (10–18 cm) long. They are commonly eaten chopped up in plain yogurt with mint or sliced thin and long with salt and lemon juice. Vines are parthenocarpic, requiring no pollinators for fruit set. Beit Alpha cucumbers are small, sweet parthenocarpic cucumbers adapted to the dry climate of the Middle East. Apple cucumbers are short, round cucumbers grown in New Zealand and parts of Europe, known for their light yellow-green color and mildly sweet flavor. When mature, the fruit may grow tiny spines, and contains numerous edible green seeds. The fruit is usually eaten raw, with skin. Schälgurken are eaten in Germany. Their thick skins are peeled and then they braised or fried, often with minced meat or dill. They are often known by the term 'Schmorgurken'. Dosakai is a yellow cucumber available in parts of India. These fruits are generally spherical in shape. It is commonly cooked as curry, added in sambar or soup, daal and also in making dosa-aavakaaya (Indian pickle) and chutney; it is also grown and available through farms in Central California. Kekiri is a smooth skinned cucumber, relatively hard, and not used for salads. It is cooked as spicy curry. It is found in dry zone of Sri Lanka. It becomes orange colored when the fruit is matured. In May 2008, British supermarket chain Sainsbury's unveiled the 'c-thru-cumber', a thin-skinned variety that reportedly does not require peeling. Depending on variety, cucumbers may have a mild melon aroma and flavor, in part resulting from unsaturated aldehydes, such as (E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal, and the cis- and trans- isomers of 2-nonenal. The slightly bitter taste of cucumber rind results from cucurbitacins.
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