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In recent years, slicing cucumbers grown in greenhouses have become widely available. Most of these varieties originated in Europe (they are sometimes called European or English cucumbers), and they tend to be thin, smooth skinned, and one to two feet in length. The majority are also seedless, or nearly so. For that reason, many people find greenhouse cucumbers easier to digest (hence another of its names, the "burpless" cucumber). They also tend to be milder in flavor--or blander, depending on your taste buds--than field-grown varieties. Greenhouse cukes are usually more expensive. Other less common slicing varieties include Armenian (pale green skin, curled end, soft seeds), Sfran (compact cukes from the Persian Gulf), and Japanese (long and slender with warty bumps). Most distinctive is the lemon cucumber, which looks like a large lemon with pale greenish-yellow skin. Pickling varieties are smaller and squatter, and have bumpy, light green skins. Most are processed into pickles, but one type--the kirby, which is used to make commercial dill pickles--is also sold fresh (and usually unwaxed). Cucumber-lovers appreciate fresh kirbies for their thin skin, crisp flesh, and tiny seeds. North Carolina Cucumbers
Growers/Shipper List Cooling/Storage Requirements of North Carolina Cucumbers
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As
you will quickly recognize when you bite into one, cucumbers are not only
crisp, but also cool and moist--attributes due to their exceptionally
high water content. The cucumber belongs to the same vegetable family
as pumpkin, zucchini (a close look-alike), watermelon, and other squashes.
First cultivated in Asia in ancient times, it was brought to America by
Columbus, and was eventually grown by both Native Americans and colonists
from Florida to Canada. Today, "cukes," as they are popularly
called, grow in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from the 1"-long
ones sold as gherkins to mammoth greenhouse varieties that can reach 20"
or longer.