Cooking With Cucumbers: More Than Just the Common Slicing Cucumber
When most of us think of a cucumber, we picture the familiar green slicing cucumber found in nearly every supermarket produce department. But cucumbers come in more shapes, sizes, textures and flavors than you might expect.
Some have thick skins and large seeds. Others have thin, tender skins and barely noticeable seeds. Some are short and crisp, while others can grow remarkably long and develop ridges and curves along their surface.
Those differences matter in the kitchen.
The cucumber you choose can affect the texture of a salad, how much preparation is required and even how well it holds up against dressings, sauces and other ingredients.
In this guide, we’ll look at four useful types—the common slicing cucumber, English cucumber, Persian cucumber and Suyo Long Chinese cucumber—and use actual recipes to show how each one can work in the kitchen.
Common Slicing Cucumbers
The common slicing cucumber is probably what most American shoppers picture when they hear the word cucumber.
These cucumbers are generally medium to large, with dark-green skin and noticeable seeds in the center.
The skin is thicker than that of English or Persian cucumbers and may be waxed to help protect the cucumber during shipping and storage.
Depending on the cucumber and the recipe, you may want to peel all or part of the skin. Very large or mature cucumbers can also develop bigger seeds and a more watery center, which can be scooped out with a spoon.
But that sturdiness can also be an advantage.
Common slicing cucumbers hold their shape well when chopped, making them useful in salads, salsas and dishes containing acidic ingredients.
Shrimp Ceviche
That makes this type of cucumber particularly useful in Mexican-Style Shrimp Ceviche, where the cucumber adds a cool, crisp contrast to citrus, tomatoes, chiles and the other bold flavors in the dish.
It is a good example of cucumber doing more than filling space in a salad. Its texture and fresh flavor help balance stronger ingredients.
English Cucumbers
English cucumbers are easy to recognize. They are long and slender and are usually sold individually wrapped in plastic.
Unlike the common slicing cucumber, an English cucumber has very thin, tender skin and small, less-developed seeds. In most recipes, there is no need to peel or seed it.
The plastic wrapping isn’t there because the cucumber needs to look fancy. Its thin skin makes it more susceptible to moisture loss, so the wrapping helps protect it during storage.
English cucumbers are especially useful when you want cucumber flavor and crunch without thick skin or a large, watery seed cavity.
Summer Panzanella: A Refreshing Italian Bread Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes
One good example is Summer Panzanella: A Refreshing Italian Bread Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes.
In this salad, English cucumber is combined with juicy heirloom tomatoes, onion, basil, mozzarella and toasted bread. Its crispness provides an important textural contrast to the tomatoes and bread, while its mild flavor doesn’t compete with the other fresh ingredients.
Watermelon Salad With Whipped Feta
English cucumber works quite differently in Watermelon Salad With Whipped Feta.
Here, the cucumber is paired with sweet watermelon, red onion, basil and creamy whipped feta.
The cucumber’s fresh flavor and crunch help balance both the sweetness of the watermelon and the richness and saltiness of the feta.
These two recipes show why English cucumbers are so versatile. The same cucumber can work alongside tomatoes and vinaigrette in a savory bread salad or provide a refreshing counterpoint to sweet fruit and creamy cheese.
Persian Cucumbers
Persian cucumbers are considerably smaller than English cucumbers, but they share some important characteristics.
They have thin edible skins, small seeds and crisp flesh, so peeling and seeding are generally unnecessary.
Their smaller size also makes them convenient. You can slice, quarter, shred or pickle them with very little preparation.
Persian cucumbers are particularly good in recipes where you want the cucumber to stay crisp after it is combined with a dressing.
Lemongrass Ponzu Chicken with Fragrant Jasmine Rice & Tangy Pickled Salad
A good example is Lemongrass Ponzu Chicken with Fragrant Jasmine Rice & Tangy Pickled Salad
The chicken and rice are served with a tangy pickled salad made with carrots and Persian cucumbers. Instead of simply serving cucumber on the side, the recipe uses its crisp texture and mild flavor as a fresh, acidic contrast to the savory chicken and rice.
Small cucumbers also work especially well when shredded.
Quick Korean-Inspired Bulgogi Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Crunchy Cucumber Carrot Slaw
In Quick Korean-Inspired Bulgogi Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Crunchy Cucumber Carrot Slaw, a mini cucumber is shredded with carrot and dressed with rice vinegar, sugar and Korean chile flakes.
The cucumber becomes part of the structure of the dish: savory-sweet bulgogi chicken is balanced by cool lettuce and a crisp, tangy cucumber-carrot slaw.
It’s another example of how cucumber can provide both flavor and texture rather than simply being a garnish.
Are Persian and Mini Cucumbers the Same?
The mini cucumbers typically sold in grocery store produce sections are Persian or Beit Alpha–type cucumbers. Beit Alpha cucumbers were developed in Israel and became known for their thin edible skin, crisp texture, tender seeds and mild, refreshing flavor.
When harvested while small, they’re commonly sold as mini, snacking or cocktail cucumbers. If allowed to remain on the vine longer, they grow larger while retaining the characteristics associated with Persian-style cucumbers.
You’re unlikely to see “Beit Alpha cucumber” prominently displayed on a supermarket package. Commercial packaging generally uses names shoppers recognize more readily, such as Persian, Mini, Snacking or Cocktail cucumbers.
So those little cucumbers you see packaged together in the produce department aren’t necessarily a completely different cucumber because they’re labeled “Mini.” The name often describes how they’re being marketed—and, in the case of mini cucumbers, the size at which they’re harvested.
Suyo Long Chinese Cucumbers
Then there are cucumbers that don’t look much like the familiar supermarket cucumber at all.
The Suyo Long is a Chinese cucumber that grows long and slender, often with a curved shape and a noticeably ridged or bumpy surface.
Its appearance may suggest that the skin is tough, but the opposite is true. Suyo Long cucumbers have relatively thin skin and crisp flesh, making them excellent for fresh preparations.
Their texture works particularly well with salty, acidic and savory ingredients.
Suyo Long Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad
That’s exactly how the cucumber is used in Suyo Long Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad.
The cucumber remains the centerpiece of the dish rather than disappearing among numerous other ingredients.
Tamari provides savory depth while balsamic vinegar supplies acidity and a little sweetness, allowing the fresh cucumber flavor and crisp texture to remain noticeable.
It is also a good example of why experimenting with unfamiliar produce can be worthwhile. A cucumber that looks unusual in the market may require very little special treatment once you get it into the kitchen.
Are Suyo Long Cucumbers the Same as English Cucumbers?
No.
Both can be long, thin-skinned and excellent for fresh eating, but they are different types of cucumbers.
English cucumbers are generally smooth, straight and uniform in appearance. Suyo Long cucumbers are often curved and noticeably ridged or bumpy.
Both can be sliced and eaten without peeling when the skin is in good condition, but the Suyo Long offers a different texture and appearance that can make it particularly interesting in cucumber-forward salads.
If you normally buy English cucumbers and see a Suyo Long at an Asian market or farmers market, don’t let its unusual appearance stop you from trying it.
Which Cucumber Should You Use?
There isn’t one cucumber that’s best for everything.
If you’re making a chopped dish such as ceviche and want a cucumber that will hold its shape among other ingredients, the common slicing cucumber works very well.
For salads where you want thin edible skin and mild flavor, an English cucumber is an easy choice. Its length also makes it useful when you need a larger amount of cucumber without preparing several individual cucumbers.
Persian and mini cucumbers are excellent for quick salads, pickling, shredding and dishes where you want plenty of crisp texture with very little preparation.
And when you find a Suyo Long cucumber, take advantage of its crisp flesh in a simple preparation where the cucumber itself can stand out.
Understanding those differences gives you another advantage: you can make smarter substitutions when the exact cucumber called for in a recipe isn’t available.
Cucumbers and Acid
From a culinary standpoint, cucumbers and acid are a natural pairing, and there’s some food science behind why they work so well together.
Raw cucumbers are roughly 95 percent water and are only mildly acidic, generally falling around pH 5.1 to 5.8.
Adding a much stronger acid, such as vinegar or citrus juice, changes more than just the flavor.
Acid provides contrast to cucumber’s mild, watery character, making its fresh flavor seem brighter and more pronounced.
Given enough time, an acidic dressing or brine also begins changing the cucumber’s texture as it draws moisture from the vegetable and interacts with its plant tissues.
That’s part of the principle behind everything from a cucumber salad dressed just before serving to cucumbers preserved in a pickling brine.
The amount of acid and how long the cucumber sits in it matter. A quick splash of lemon juice or vinegar can brighten a fresh cucumber while preserving its crunch.
Leave cucumber in an acidic mixture longer, and the flavor penetrates more deeply while the texture gradually changes.
Choosing Fresh Cucumbers
Regardless of variety, a fresh cucumber should feel firm for its size.
Avoid cucumbers with large soft spots, shriveled areas, slimy surfaces or obvious signs of decay.
A cucumber that has begun to soften has already started losing one of its most important culinary qualities—its crunch.
With varieties such as Suyo Long, don’t mistake natural curves, ridges or bumps for poor quality. That’s simply how the cucumber grows.
English, Persian and other thin-skinned cucumbers should have taut-looking skin without large wrinkled or collapsed areas.
Storing Cucumbers
Cucumbers contain a great deal of water, and their texture gradually deteriorates during storage.
Keep them refrigerated and use them while they are still firm and crisp.
Once cut, cover the exposed portion or place the cucumber in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Thin-skinned varieties such as English and Persian cucumbers are especially worth using while they’re at their best.
Their delicate skin is one of their advantages in the kitchen, but it also provides less protection than the thicker skin of a common slicing cucumber.
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