What to Do with All Those Cucumbers

I have a cucumber tree in my vegetable garden. At least, that’s what I tell my grandchildren. And this summer, the “tree,” a circular trellis supporting several vines, is working overtime. I’m not alone. I’ve heard from fellow gardeners that this is a year for a bumper cuke crop. In addition to sharing the extras with friends (without gardens), that also means lots of salads and pickles.

A few things about cucumbers. They’re best eaten as soon after picking as possible. Pick them before they get too big and fat.

That said, if you can’t use them right away, dry them off before storage, as moisture encourages mold, and keep them between 50 and 60 degrees F. The best storage place is the warmest part of your fridge near the door. Because of their high water content, they’re prone to mold and drying out. They’re also sensitive to other produce that emits ethylene gas such as apples, tomatoes, bananas, and melons, so don’t store your cukes near these fruits.

Cucumbers on the farm

When I was growing up, the typical use was a simple side dish of sliced cucumbers in vinegar seasoned with dill or caraway seed. Occasionally, the fare included dairy sour cream and grated or thinly sliced onion. And my grandmother would sometimes preserve sweet pickles. Barring the occasional experiment in chopping a cucumber and mixing it in with some other garden vegetables with green Jell-O, these plain cucumber recipes were my familial heritage.

Cucumbers in my kitchen

These days, I’ve found a number of creative uses. There’s cucumber soup and cucumber salsa, of course, but how about cucumber sorbet? That’s a simple concoction with lemon or lime juice with sugar, maybe a little basil, for a little something sweet and cool. One recipe from the late lamented Gourmet magazine calls for slicing a cucumber very thin on a mandoline, then arranging the slices fish-scale-style on a thick sea-bass fillet sprinkled with salt, pepper, and dill before placing it in melted butter in a skillet, covering until cooked through (pictured). You can use any mild white fish – cod, haddock, perch, or halibut.

An equally easy and versatile dish is Quick-Pickled Cucumbers that go with just about any meal: a way to jazz up grilled chicken, fish, pork, you name it. Or a little more work but delicious is a Japanese-inspired cucumber salad. A visit to a Japanese restaurant when I was in my early 20s woke my palate to this totally new cucumber experience. It was that small first-course Japanese cucumber salad, sprinkled with rice vinegar and sesame seeds, and the explosion of Japanese umami with the special flavor that I now know was accentuated with sesame oil and fish sauce. This recipe for the salad incorporates ingredients that are available in the local grocery store, with the exception of dried wakame. I left it out, and the salad still won accolades.

Here’s an idea for a main-dish meal with farro: Grain Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers.

How about you? Do you do anything special with cucumbers that you’d like to share?