The suburban citizen., 1901-08-03
ABOUT THE CUCUMBER
HARDEST WORKED OF VEGETABLES
AND SOMETIMES THE eesT.

and Lots Of Ways Using II = It,s An
Client and Arlstocratio- Makes A Drinj
in Egypt-Odd Ways OF Serving.
The cucumber is the hardest-worke,
member Of the vegetable kipgdom
At least it Is if we may judge by tn,
variety OF Its uses. From America t,
Asia Minor It appears as an article o.
food on dinner tables and supper
tables, all over the civilized world
But that does not exhaust It's possbili
ties by any means. In Egypt It i:
made to yield pleasant cooling drink
by Ingenious treatment. A hole is cut
In the cucumber, the pulp Is broker
/ and stirred with a stick, and the hole
closed with wax. The cucumber. still
fastened to its stem, is lowered into a
pit. After a few days the Juice fer,
ments, and the Egyptian drawing Il
Off has liquor exactly suited to his
taste.
When my lady wishes to allay sun.
burn or to soften and wniten her skin,
on general principles she calls for Gu
cumber soap or cucumber cream. The
very name makes her think that the
preparation must be harmless as well
as efflcacious, and the Beau Brum.
mels Of to-day use cucumber pomade
with the same sense of security.
Then pickles-what is more univer.
sally popular than the pickle, and
what new-fangled invention can bear
comparison with the old-fash0ned
time honored cucumber pickle! From
the days OF kits and p!nafores when
boys and girls ate huge penny pickle
with surreptitious bites, to the days
OF formal dinners, when baby cucum-
bers appear as gherkins, what relish
sharpens hunger like a pickle?
Yet the cucumber in its natural state
Is at once the temptation and the
menace OF the eating world. Plump,
green and inviting as I: is. doctors
who have delicate digestons in charge
taboo 1t. The average man eats it
cheerfully. but with a sneaLing fear
Of consequences. Mental science
should turn its attention TO cucumbcrs
for while. u 1t should convince the
universal mind that cucumbers were
in reality digestible and could issue a
guarantee wiki every cucumber sold
the digestive woe OF humanity would
De wonderfully lightened.
In the meantime household sclen-
fists have advanced to the rescue
Nothing Is beyond them They have
reduced the most illogical of foods to
their principles. They have discov-
cred the innermost sources Of the
squash and the potato ana ali their
kith and kin. With persistent dill
gence they have tabulated foods ac-
cordins to their nutritive value, and
by following these tables the poorest
woman in the slums can learn how to
keep home happy, and her husband
well fed on ten cents a day
Now cucumbers DO not stand high
in their list They are among the or
naments. They represent the acces-
sories, the poetry Of diet as it were.
But, however, these modern scientists
have lessened the ancient prestige Of
the cucumber they show how it can
be made digestible at least
Buy a medium-szed cucumber to
serve raw is the first OF the modern
rules for the hygienic housekeeper.
1t should be good green and Arm to
the touch. Remove thinly skins from
both ends and cut off a thick pairing
This Is important because the cucum-
Der contains a bitter principle, and
much OF it lies near the skin and the
stem end. Not trace of green should
be seen when the pairing Is finished
The cucumber should then be cut into
slices, wafer thin, and put into salt !
and water. Let not the unwary cook
be led TO think that this viii make !
them brittle and crisp, however, They
will be as fabby as celery week old
but dlSestible.
Since most people prefer their GU.
cumbers crisp or not at all, this method |
finds little favor except among inva-
lids and iPcurables. But cold water |
without the salt answers almost the |
same purpose, and the eucumbers |
come out after their soaking as fresh |
and tender as If they had just been |
picked from the vines Drained and |
covered with crushed ice and served !
they make a dish 81 for king. Kings, |
indeed, have appreciated the value OF |
tbs cucumber from time lmmemorlal. |
For the cucumber, as far as lineage |
goes, is an arlstOcrat among the vege-
tables not a mere interloper few
paltry centuries old, like the potato. |
Even in Bible times it was eaten and |
enjoyed under the name Of mandrake. |
Pliny sets the seal Of royal approval !
on 1t by telling that the Emperor III |
berius had cucumbers served at his |
table every day. How many other
EmperDrs may have laid up for them
selves indigestion by indulging in the
juicy cucumber, is an unrecorded list.
But in a digestive war OF the vegeta-
bles cucumbers could undoubtedly |
carry of the honors for the most mis-,
chief done to mankind.
How Tlberlus liked his cucumberB,
Pliny does not say. But for ordinary
e7ery-day use modern taste prefers
them raw. For state occasions. or