Cucumber

Thecucumber(Cucumis sativus) is a widely-cultivatedcreeping vineplant in the familyCucurbitaceaethat bears cylindrical to sphericalfruits, which are used asculinary vegetables.Considered an annual plant,there are three main types of cucumber—slicing,pickling, andseedless—within which severalcultivarshave been created. The cucumber originates inAsiaextending fromIndia,Nepal,Bangladesh,China(Yunnan,Guizhou,Guangxi), andNorthern Thailand,but now grows on mostcontinents, and many different types of cucumber are grown commercially and traded on theglobal market. InNorth America, the termwild cucumberrefers to plants in thegeneraEchinocystisandMarah, though the two are not closely related.
The cucumber is acreeping vinethat roots in the ground and grows uptrellisesor other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiralingtendrils.The plant may also root in asoilless medium, whereby it will sprawl along the ground in lieu of a supporting structure. The vine has large leaves that form acanopyover the fruits.
The fruit of typical cultivars of cucumber is roughlycylindrical, but elongated with tapered ends, and may be as large as 62 centimeters (24 in) long and 10 centimeters (4 in) in diameter.
Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water (see nutrition table). Inbotanicalterms, the cucumber is classified as apepo, a type ofbotanical berrywith a hard outer rind and no internal divisions. However, much liketomatoesandsquashes, it is often perceived, prepared, and eaten as avegetable.
Most cucumber cultivars are seeded and require pollination. For this purpose, thousands ofhoneybeehivesare annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom. Cucumbers may also be pollinated viabumblebeesand several other bee species. Most cucumbers that require pollination areself-incompatible, thus requiring thepollenof another plant in order to formseedsand fruit.Some self-compatible cultivars exist that are related to the 'Lemon cucumber' cultivar.
A fewcultivarsof cucumber areparthenocarpic, theblossomsof which createseedless fruitwithoutpollination, which degrades the eating quality of these cultivar. In theUnited States, these are usually grown ingreenhouses, wherebeesare excluded. InEurope, they are grown outdoors in some regions, where bees are likewise excluded.
Traditional cultivars produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. Newergynoecioushybrid cultivars produce almost all female blossoms. They may have apollenizercultivar interplanted, and the number of beehives per unit area is increased, but temperature changes induce male flowers even on these plants, which may be sufficient for pollination to occur.
In 2009, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the cucumbergenome.
A study ofgenetic recombinationduringmeiosisin cucumber provided a high resolution landscape of meioticDNA double strand-breaksandgenetic crossovers.The average number of crossovers per chromosome per meiosis was 0.92 to 0.99.
Phytochemicalsin cucumbers may discourage naturalforagingbyherbivores, such as insects,nematodesorwildlife.As a possible defense mechanism, cucumbers producecucurbitacin C,which causes abitter tastein some cucumber varieties. This potential mechanism is under preliminary research to identify whether cucumbers are able to deter herbivores andenvironmental stressesby using an intrinsicchemical defense, particularly in the leaves,cotyledons,pedicel,carpopodium, and fruit.
Raw cucumber (withpeel) is 95% water, 4%carbohydrates, 1%protein, and contains negligiblefat. A100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce)reference servingprovides 65 kilojoules (16 kilocalories) offood energy. It has a low content ofmicronutrients: it is notable only forvitamin K, at 14% of theDaily Value(table).
Depending on variety, cucumbers may have a mildmelonaroma and flavor, in part resulting from unsaturatedaldehydes, such as(E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal, and thecis- andtrans-isomersof2-nonenal.The slightlybittertaste of cucumber rind results fromcucurbitacins.
In generalcultivation, cucumbers are classified into three maincultivargroups: slicing,pickling, andseedless/burpless.
Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are calledslicing cucumbers. The main varieties of slicers mature onvineswith large leaves that provide shading.
Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have much tougher skin. In contrast, those in other countries, often calledEuropean cucumbers, are smaller and have thinner, more delicate skin, often with fewer seeds, thus are often sold in plastic skin for protection. This variety may also be called atelegraph cucumber, particularly inAustralasia.
Picklingwithbrine, sugar,vinegar, and spices creates various flavored products from cucumbers and other foods.Although any cucumber can be pickled, commercial pickles are made from cucumbers specially bred for uniformity of length-to-diameter ratio and lack of voids in the flesh. Those cucumbers intended for pickling, calledpicklers, grow to about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. Compared to slicers, picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, less-regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white or black-dotted spines. Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green.
Gherkins, also calledcornichons,orbaby pickles, are small cucumbers, typically those 2.5 to 12.5 centimetres (1 to 5 in) in length, often with bumpy skin, which are typically used for pickling.The wordgherkincomes from the early modernDutchgurkenoraugurken('small pickled cucumber').The term is also used in the name forCucumis anguria, theWest Indian gherkin, a closely related species.
Burpless cucumbers are sweeter and have a thinner skin than other varieties of cucumber. They are reputed to be easy to digest and to have a pleasant taste. They can grow as long as 60 centimeters (2 ft), are nearly seedless, and have a delicate skin. Most commonly grown in greenhouses, theseparthenocarpiccucumbers are often found ingrocery markets,shrink-wrappedin plastic. They are marketed as either burpless or seedless, as the seeds and skin of other varieties of cucumbers are said to give some people gas.
Cucumbershootsare regularly consumed as a vegetable, especially in rural areas. In Thailand they are often served with a crab meat sauce. They can also be stir fried or used in soups.
In 2022, world production of cucumbers and gherkins was 95 milliontonnes, led by China with 82% of the total.
Cultivated for at least 3,000 years, the cultivated cucumbers"Cucumis sativus"were domesticated inIndiafrom wild "C. sativus var. hardwickii".where a great many varieties have been observed, along with its closest living relative,Cucumis hystrix.Three main cultivar groups of cucumber are namely Eurasian cucumbers (slicing cucumbers eaten raw and immature), East Asian cucumbers (pickling cucumbers) and Xishuangbanna cucumbers. Based on demographic modelling, the East Asian C. sativus cultivars diverged from the Indian cultivars c. 2500 years ago.It was probably introduced to Europe by theGreeksorRomans. Records of cucumber cultivation appear inFrancein the 9th century,Englandin the 14th century, and in North America by the mid-16th century.
According toPliny the Elder, the EmperorTiberiushad the cucumber on his table daily during summer and winter. In order to have it available for his table every day of the year, the Romans reportedly used artificial methods of growing (similar to thegreenhouse system), wherebymirrorstonerefers to Pliny'slapis specularis, believed to have been sheetmica:
Reportedly, they were also cultivated inspecularia, cucumber houses glazed with oiled cloth.Pliny describes the Italian fruit as very small, probably like agherkin. He also describes the preparation of a medication known aselaterium. However, some scholarsbelieve that he was instead referring toEcballium elaterium, known in pre-Linneantimes asCucumis silvestrisorCucumis asininus('wild cucumber' or 'donkey cucumber'), a species different from the common cucumber.Pliny also writes about several other varieties of cucumber, including the cultivated cucumber,and remedies from the different types (9 from the cultivated; 5 from the "anguine;" and 26 from the "wild").
Charlemagnehad cucumbers grown in his gardens in the 8th/9th century. They were reportedly introduced into England in the early 14th century, lost, then reintroduced approximately 250 years later. TheSpaniards(through theItalianChristopher Columbus) brought cucumbers toHaitiin 1494. In 1535,Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, found "very great cucumbers" grown on the site of what is nowMontreal.
Throughout the 16th century, European trappers, traders,bisonhunters, and explorers bartered for the products of American Indianagriculture. The tribes of theGreat Plainsand theRocky Mountainslearned from the Spanish how to grow European crops. The farmers on the Great Plains included theMandanandAbenaki. They obtained cucumbers andwatermelonsfrom the Spanish, and added them to the crops they were already growing, including several varieties ofcornandbeans,pumpkins,squash, andgourdplants.TheIroquoiswere also growing them when the first Europeans visited them.
In 1630, the ReverendFrancis Higginsonproduced a book calledNew-Englands Plantationin which, describing a garden on Conant's Island inBoston Harborknown asThe Governor's Garden, he states:
InNew England Prospect(1633, England), William Wood published observations he made in 1629 in America:
In the later 17th century, a prejudice developed against uncooked vegetables and fruits. A number of articles in contemporary health publications stated that uncooked plants brought on summer diseases and should be forbidden to children. The cucumber kept this reputation for an inordinate period of time, "fit only for consumption by cows," which some believe is why it gained the name,cowcumber.
Samuel Pepyswrote in his diary on 22 August 1663:
John Evelyn in 1699 wrote that the cucumber, 'however dress'd, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than poyson (poison)'.
According to 18th-century British writerSamuel Johnson, it was commonly said among English physicians that a cucumber "should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing."
A copperetchingmade by Maddalena Bouchard between 1772 and 1793 shows this plant to have smaller, almost bean-shaped fruits, and small yellow flowers. The small form of the cucumber is figured inHerbalsof the 16th century, however stating that "[i]f hung in a tube while in blossom, the Cucumber will grow to a most surprising length."