14 Mistakes You Are Probably Making With Cucumbers

There's a lot you can do with a cucumber. This vegetable (which, botanically speaking, is really a fruit) is equally at home in a nourishing veggie bowl as accompanying a bowl of hot rice and grilled meat. Although you'd hardly call cucumbers trendy, more recently they've been having a renaissance, with TikTok's popular cucumber salad reminding millions of people online how easy they are to work with. However, because this renaissance has likely had many people reaching for cucumbers for the first time in a while, it's also probably brought to their attention the fact that cucumbers are a little trickier to work with than they seem. It's easy to make mistakes with this vegetable, but they're mistakes that are just as easy to avoid.

One of the cucumber's key strengths — its high water content — is also the cause of a lot of these mistakes. When folks fail to prepare their cucumbers correctly, all of that water can ruin their food pretty quickly. As well as this, cucumbers can be devilishly tricky to store correctly, and whether they're whole or sliced, it's easy for things to go wrong. The good news is that some simple tweaks to how you treat your cucumbers can make them go so much further.

You'll never get the best result from your cucumber if you're starting with the wrong one — and yet, so many people do, by bringing home the wrong cucumbers from the store. Too often, you get home and realize that you didn't check over your cucumber properly, and the one you were about to use is bruised, mushy, and yellowing. It's always a disappointing moment.

Visually speaking, you should look for a consistent green color to choose the best grocery store cucumbers. As cucumbers ripen, they start to develop yellow streaks. Some people mistakenly see this as underripeness, and take these cucumbers home with the assumption that they'll continue ripening. However, with those yellow streaks comes the development of a compound called cucurbitacin, which gives the cucumber a bitter flavor. Cucumbers won't carry on ripening once they've been picked, so you should always opt for those with a uniform green color, which will give you the best flavor.

Another important check to make is giving your cucumber a good feel before you put it in your basket. If there are any soft or squishy parts, the vegetable has likely been bashed around a little in transit, or has started to spoil. Eating these parts will be pretty unpleasant.

It's tempting to assume that you can get your cucumbers home and start using them straight away — but before you do, you'll need to give them a wash. Although this is important to remove any dirt or pesticides, there's also another key reason you should do so. Unwrapped cucumbers can often have a slightly waxy feel to them, which is the result of, well, wax. Cucumbers grow a natural layer of wax as they come into maturity, and when they're harvested this wax is cleaned off, with another layer of wax then added onto them to protect the vegetable.

Although the wax on your cucumber skin is there to keep it safe, it can also have pesticides or pathogens on it, and it should always be washed off before you eat it. Just scrub your cucumber with a soft-bristled brush while running it under a tap. If your cucumbers come wrapped in plastic, it's still a good idea to give them a wash before eating them. There's always the possibility that they also have pesticides on them, or that they've become contaminated during the packing process.

Whether you're trying to get ahead or you just chopped a few too many, you may find yourself staring at a pile of sliced cucumbers and wondering what to do with them. Sure, you can just pop them in your fridge on a plate — but if you do, you'll find that when you next need them, they'll be dry as a bone. Cucumbers are 96% water, and the moment this water is exposed by slicing them, it'll start to evaporate. This is only exacerbated if you're placing them in your fridge, which has constantly circulating air pumping through it.

It might not surprise you to find out that the solution to losing the moisture from a cucumber is to introduce more moisture. To properly store cucumber slices, cover them with water in an airtight container and place it in your refrigerator. They should keep fresh for a good few days, but you might find that you need to change the water every now and again to keep them fresh. When you're ready to use your cucumbers, make sure you pat off as much water as you can. Don't press too hard, though: This will squeeze more moisture from the cucumber, drying it our and ruining the texture.

How are you cutting your cucumbers? You're probably just slicing it into rounds from one end to the other, right? We wouldn't blame you if you're doing that, considering that it's the obvious way to slice this vegetable. However, if you do cut your cucumbers this way, you might find that they're a little more bitter than you'd like, due to an overly high concentration of cucurbitacin in the ends of the vegetable, particularly near the stem. This cucurbitacin is the source of bitterness in cucumbers, and including the end slices in your finished meal can contribute to an unpleasant taste.

You'll want to cut the ends of your cucumbers first, and then slice up the rest — it's best to use this method for cutting cucumbers even if you're going to peel them. Peeling your cucumbers with the ends intact can seem smart, as the curved edge gives your peeler a little more traction. Unfortunately, most of the curcubitacin in cucumbers is just under the skin, so peeling this way can also spread bitterness down the sides of your vegetable, giving the whole thing a hint of unpleasant flavors. Lop the ends off before you begin peeling, and you'll get all of that crisp, slightly herbal cucumber flavor, without any bitter notes.

Cucumbers are surprisingly temperamental, folks. Failing to store them correctly can result in your vegetables deteriorating more quickly than you'd like. Although your cucumbers might be kept at room temperature in the store, doing the same at home can shorten their lifespan. Cucumbers can stay fresh for a few days when kept on the counter, but then they'll start to soften or wilt. This is more likely to happen if they're kept in an especially warm environment, or in direct sunlight.

However, you shouldn't be tempted to go in the other direction and store them in too cold a place. In especially cold environments (such as pressed up against the back of your fridge where it's cold enough for ice to form), cucumbers can start to freeze and form ice crystals. These crystals are a huge problem for cucumbers, because of their high water content. When ice crystals freeze and grow, the cells inside the cucumber will be broken apart, and the vegetable will be rendered mushy and soggy. Your best bet is to keep your cucumbers in the front of your crisper drawer, while ensuring that your refrigerator temperature isn't turned down too low.

Like pretty much any other vegetable, cucumbers can go one of two ways when they start to get old: They can either break down into mush, or they can start to wilt. The latter is caused by moisture loss. Because cucumbers are so high in water, this moisture keeps them crisp and firm, but when it begins to seep out, the vegetable can be left limp and bendy.

The good news, though, is that there's a simple hack that you can use to bring wilted cucumbers back to life. Instead of throwing them away, chop them into planks and then pop them in a jar. Then, fill the jar with water, put the lid on, and leave it in the refrigerator. As the cucumbers sit in the jar, they'll start to rehydrate and regain all of the firmness they once had. Once they've rehydrated, you can take them out of the jar and store them in your refrigerator as before — but we'd recommend leaving them in the jar until you're ready to use them. They'll stay crisp for a good few days.

Anyone who's dared to try and heat a cucumber has probably found how tricky the whole process is. Cucumbers are pretty difficult to cook, because of all of the water inside them. When they're heated, that water seeps out very quickly, leaving you with a limp slice of cucumber that has a puddle of water sitting around it. Add in the delicate, crisp flavor of cucumbers, which sometimes doesn't lend itself to mixing with other tastes, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

However, it's patently not true that you can't cook cucumbers at all. In fact, air-fried cucumber is a surprisingly delicious snack. If you place cucumbers in the air fryer, their excess moisture will be blown away as they cook, leaving you with crispy cucumber chips. Alternatively, you can coat them in batter or breadcrumbs and air fry, or even deep fry them, which keeps their moisture locked in. For seasonings to use with cucumbers, it's usually best to keep it simple: A little salt and pepper go a long way, and a dash of smoked paprika can add some exciting depth of flavor.

Way too many of us have sliced up cucumbers to put into a salad, mixed them with our other vegetables and seasonings — and then wondered why, after 20 or so minutes, there's a huge puddle of water at the bottom of our bowl. The culprit? The cucumber's seeds. Cucumber seeds contain the bulk of the vegetable's moisture, and as soon as they're exposed to the air, that moisture is ready to be released. Mix it with anything that can draw the moisture out, like salt, and it'll soon end up outside the cucumber itself.

To prevent watery cucumber salad, the best thing to do is to remove the vegetable's seeds. This is pretty easy — just cut your cucumber into lengthwise quarters, and then run your knife between the seeds and the cucumber flesh, slicing them off in one clean strip. Alternatively, you can cut your cucumber in half lengthways, and then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Naturally, this won't work with all salads: If your dish relies on your cucumbers being cut into rounds, it can be a little tricky to remove the seeds. If it does, though, we'd recommend trying to eat your salad as quickly as possible, to limit the amount of water your cucumbers can release.

If you've never made your own pickled cucumbers, now is the time to try it. Pickling is not only easy but immensely satisfying. It gives you a huge amount of control over your flavors, and it's a great way to rustle up some homemade presents for your friends and family at Christmastime.

To make proper pickled cucumbers, you need to pick the right vegetable. Unfortunately, way too many people don't do this, and end up coming home with cucumbers that are too big for their jars and totally unsuited to pickling. While you can slice them up, it's always more satisfying to pickle them whole. Ideally, you should try to find the best cucumbers you can for homemade pickles, like Kirby cucumbers. These are the type you're most likely to find in store-bought pickle jars, coming in at about six inches long with a bumpy, gnarled skin. The National Pickling Cucumber variety is also a great option to go for. While you might struggle to find these in your regular supermarket, farmer's markets and specialty produce stores are more likely to have them in stock.

Have you ever seen folks crushing up their cucumbers, and wondered what on Earth the purpose is? Well, if you've ever opted to slice your cucumbers instead of smash them because of this very thought process, we're here to correct things. Smashing cucumbers for a cucumber salad makes a huge difference to its flavor. When you smash cucumbers, you expose way more of their surface area, making them much easier to salt. This surface area means that any dressing you use has more to cover, making your salad more flavorful. This is added to by the craggy texture that smashing cucumbers produces, which gives your dressing loads of little corners to nestle into.

Smashing cucumbers is arguably easier than slicing them, too. Just put your cucumber on a cutting board, and then give it a hard whack with a heavy-bottomed pan. You can cover it with plastic wrap or put it in a ziplock bag if you want, to reduce any mess. Make sure not to hit them too hard, as you don't want to completely mash them up. Once they've been smashed, you can then slice them into smaller pieces if you wish.

Cucumbers are one of those vegetables that seems to take barely any prep: In theory, you can just slice them up and they're good to go. However, there's one key step that most people don't do which will improve your salad immeasurably. Salting and draining cucumbers before adding them to your salad may seem pointless, but it's a quick way to ensure that your cucumbers remain crisp. When you salt them, the salt draws out all of the excess moisture, rendering the cucumber crunchy without completely drying it out. When you add dressing or seasonings, they won't release any more moisture, which could otherwise leave your salad waterlogged.

Salting them couldn't be easier, too. Once you've sliced your cucumber into rounds, just sprinkle kosher salt over them and leave them for around half an hour. Then, pat off any excess moisture with a paper towel. Doing this will also remove some of the salt from your cucumber, but it's important to remember that they may still be a little briny, so you might want to adjust the seasonings elsewhere in your salad to account for this.

Have you ever found that your cucumber salad is slightly lacking in taste, even though you've added in all of the ingredients that normally go in there? You've probably not marinated it. Marinating will give you the most flavorful cucumber salad of your life, and yet it's a trick that barely anyone uses. Cucumbers absorb flavors incredibly well, and allowing your salad to marinate will give it time to suck up all of the different notes in your dressing. Additionally, it'll also allow them to absorb flavors from other ingredients, like fresh chili, garlic, or ginger.

Bear in mind, though, that marinating your cucumbers can also allow them to release their own moisture. This may result in a slightly more watery salad than you'd like. That means that if you're going to marinate, it's a good idea to salt and drain your cucumbers beforehand, to draw out their extra moisture and keep them crisp.

Cucumbers have a mild, gentle flavor, which a lot of people describe as "neutral." However, neutral it ain't, folks. Cucumber has its own unique notes of grassiness, herbaceousness, and a slight sweetness that distinguishes it from other vegetables. These notes go with a lot of things, but there are also certain flavors they really don't pair with. Including the wrong flavors with your cucumber can ruin your meal.

Cucumbers generally don't go well with dense, heavier-tasting foods. That means that red meat and red wine are off the menu with cucumbers, as they'll clash awfully with the sprightly flavor of the vegetable. Cucumber also tends not to go especially well with certain fresh fish, with any briny notes somewhat overwhelming the vegetable's grassy taste. It usually goes better with lighter options like other vegetables, and fares well with fresh aromatics like chili and garlic. It also goes excellently with cream cheese or sour cream, and acts as a lovely balance point for preserved fish like smoked salmon.

Cucumbers are at home in a lot of dishes, but they can stand out horribly in others. Although you can certainly cook cucumbers, doing so in the wrong meal can be a real issue, because of all the water they release as they cook. In some situations, this water can be removed or boiled off, but in others, it can ruin things very quickly.

This is the case in meals where removing moisture is trickier, like in a quiche or a pie. In dishes like these, the cucumber water will not only give your food a weak flavor, but also ruin the consistency of the dish itself. Adding cucumbers to hot eggs or omelets, or other pastry-based dishes, can produce a similar problem. Instead of ruining your meal with excess water, we'd always recommend serving cucumbers fresh with dishes like these, instead of trying to incorporate them into the dish itself. We'd also generally recommend cooking cucumbers on their own and serving them as a snack, instead of using them as an ingredient.