You’ve probably eaten that produce department staple, the grandmotherly blimp-shaped Marketmore cucumber. Or the short, fat and warty American pickling variety. Or maybe you’ve tried that hothouse wonder, the English burpless cucumber.
But you ain’t tasted nothing yet. Get ready for the slim and sweet Japanese and Chinese cucumbers. Or the pale yellow lemon types or Armenian netted varieties. You just might get lucky and find Persian baby cukes, slim as a fat finger and nearly seedless. This summer promises some pretty exciting eating for fans of the humble cucumber.
Last year I tried Tasty Jade, a dark green Japanese cucumber no bigger around than a quarter. Sweet, firm and finely textured, Tasty Jade soon became the cuke of choice at my house.
Until I tasted Suyo Long (pictured above), that is, a Chinese cuke with a neon green warty skin, a funky curved shape and a heavy bottom. Farmer Ron Jones of On the Wind Farm invited me to taste it at his stand in the Kirkwood market. Let’s face it, bumpy, funny-shaped vegetables need good publicity. “Suyo Long is ridgy and spiny, but even big it retains its flavor,” said Jones.
He’s right to let customers sample. Suyo Long tastes wonderful, almost nutty, with a very pleasant sweetness. I incorporated this Chinese beauty into summer meals from that moment.
In fairness, I must confess cucumbers are a favorite summer staple. I usually buy them at markets for salads, icebox pickles, cucumber bisque, gazpacho and sauces like tzatziki, the Greek dressing for gyros. I generally avoid supermarket cukes because the waxy coatings applied to extend shelf life aren’t high on my list. If you do buy cucumbers at the markets, store them in open paper bags and check each day for soft spots or slime. (Hey, cucumbers are about 90 percent water. Slime happens.) Don’t let the shorter shelf life stop you from trying farm cukes.
“I love to eat them raw on a hot day,” said Jones. “They’ve got lots of moisture. A cuke sandwich always makes me feel refreshed.” He’s so right. Try the classic cucumber sandwich, or use cucumber slices as you would lettuce on a bacon and tomato sandwich. Crunchy, clean and so good.
“This year, I’ve got a new variety, Satsuki Midori,” said Jones. “There’s very few seeds. This cucumber is not bitter at all and extremely delicious.” With luck, no wilt, few cucumber beetles and good weather, Jones will bring all three varieties to the Kirkwood market this summer.
He appreciates Tasty Jade for one particular quality: He can grow this cucumber under row covers, preventing attacks from bugs, because the all-female flowers don’t need open pollination. That’s a plus for organic farmers like Jones.
Jones’ small farm boasts only a walk-behind tractor. He likes it that way. “I get to look at everything. I can move a toad if I need to. Farmers are so far removed when they get in those big tractors with the air-conditioned cabs, they don’t feel the land anymore. When you work on the land, you become like a shaman. People today have forgotten some important things,” Jones said, “like how things grow, how interdependent all things are.”
So if you’re not growing your own, farmers are ready to serve you at a market close to home. Go see them. Try something new. Maybe something warty, even. You could be amazed.
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2008.