The cucumber it belongs to the cucurbitaceae family and is native to Asia, where it has been cultivated since 3000 BC.
In practice it is the fruit of an annual herbaceous plant, from the same family of watermelon and melon.
There are many varieties of different sizes, more or less rounded at the end, with smooth or lumpy skin. Some grow well even in the mountains, others in warm areas, as long as they are not arid.
Cucumber contains a lot of water (96%) and needs well-hydrated soils. In Italy it has always been cultivated in Lazio, Veneto, Puglia, Sicily, Calabria and Emilia Romagna.
VARIETY OF CUCUMBER
The most common cucumbers have green color and cylindrical shape: the length can range from 15-20 cm in the most common types on our markets, up to 30-40 cm in the Dutch varieties. There are then only 4-5 cm cucumbers, used for pickled preservation.
They are not yet fully ripe: the pulp, firm and crunchy, contains numerous seeds, more abundant in less fresh cucumbers.
Then there are the so-called "carousel" cucumbers: short, rounded and crossed by thin vertical grooves, they can be intense or light green, uniform or streaked. Their pulp is more digestible than that of common cucumbers.
HOW TO CLEAN THE CUCUMBER
To make it more digestible, peel it and peel it with an arched potato peeler, then cut it in half lengthwise and eliminate the seeds, passing a scoop along the central part with the seeds.
To remove the bitter taste of the cucumber, put the sliced vegetable in a colander, sprinkle with salt and put a weight on it; rinse them after 30 minutes.
Or remove the 2 ends and rub them on the freshly cut pulp to extract the white foam.
RECIPES FOR COOKING CUCUMBER
In our tradition it is used to slice it thinly to mix it with mixed salads. Cut into sticks, diced or chopped, it is the protagonist of great dishes of Mediterranean cuisine, from Gazpacho Spanish allo tzatziki Greek or a characteristic Bulgarian soup, datta tarator, in which it is mixed with yogurt.
EXCELLENT FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY
Cucumber is refreshing and diuretic, has very few calories but contains fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamins.
And it is excellent for beauty: two thick slices placed on the eyes for 10-15 minutes cause the capillaries to contract and thus reduce the swelling of the eyes.
Barbara Roncarolo
June 2020
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