Pickling Cucumber

Name: Pickling cucumber, also called Kirby cucumber (Cucumis sativus) — a short, stubby, bumpy-skinned cucumber with a thick, crisp flesh, small seeds and a firm texture, bred for pickling. They are bitter-free and hold their crunch in brine.

Description

Pickling cucumbers are a type of cucumber developed to stay crisp when preserved, and they are shorter, with thinner, more bumpy skin that absorbs brine easily. The name Kirby is thought to come from a US seed company. They are the main raw material for dill pickles, gherkins and cornichons, which are small, young pickling cucumbers.

Pickling cucumbers have been preserved in brine for thousands of years, with the technique used in Mesopotamia about 4,500 years ago. Pickles can be made through fermentation in salt brine, which produces probiotic bacteria and a sour taste, or quick-pickled in vinegar.

Main nutrition value

Pickling cucumbers are very low in calories, and provide vitamin K and a little vitamin C and potassium, and fermented pickles may contain beneficial bacteria.

How best to be consumed

Pickling cucumbers are used for pickles, but are also good fresh.

1. Ferment in salt brine with dill, garlic and spices for sour, probiotic pickles.
2. Make quick vinegar pickles in a jar, with salt, sugar, dill and garlic, ready in a day.
3. Slice thickly into salads, or eat fresh for a crunchy snack.
4. Pick small ones for cornichons and gherkins.
5. Remove the blossom end, which contains enzymes that soften the pickle.

Overconsumption could cause…

Pickling cucumbers are healthy fresh, but pickles are salty.

1. High salt (sodium) intake from pickles, which can raise blood pressure over time.
2. Heartburn or stomach upset from vinegar and spices in pickles.
3. Food poisoning from improper home canning and fermenting, so follow tested recipes.
4. Toxic squash syndrome from cucurbitacins, natural compounds that make a squash or gourd intensely bitter, and which can cause severe stomach upset, hair loss and even death in rare cases, so always taste a little raw and discard the whole fruit if it is very bitter.

GroupsSquash and GourdsGourd family (Cucurbitaceae)Low fatLow sodiumRich in vitamin KFresh

Related foodsCucumberEnglish CucumberBitter Gourd / Bitter MelonZucchini / CourgetteChayoteYellow Squash

Wikipedia — Pickled cucumber, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickled_cucumber