Slicing or Garden Cucumber
(Scientific Binomial Name: Cucumis sativus)
Selection Information
Usage: Salads, sandwiches or on vegetable platters.
Selection: Good quality cucumbers are an even dark-green color, firm and relatively thin but can be either long or short.
Storage: Unwashed cucumbers should be placed in a perforated plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator.
Avoid: Avoid cucumbers that are soft, yellow or wrinkled on the ends. Huge fat cucumbers may be full of large seeds and bitter.
Seasonal Information
Available year-round. Washington cucumbers are available from July through September.
Cucumber Nutritional Information
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Cucumbers are low in Saturated Fat, awith very little Cholesterol and Sodium. They're also a good source of Vitamin A, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Manganese, and a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Potassium.
Cucumber Tips & Trivia
- The cucumber is originally from India where it has been cultivated for over 3,000 years.
- There is a reference to people eating cucumbers in the ancient story of Gilgamesh.
- From India, the cucumber spread to Greece, then Italy where became favored by the Romans, and it eventially appeared in China.