Cucumber
Cucumber | |
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Cucumbers growing on vines | |
A single cucumber fruit | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Cucurbitales |
Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
Genus: | Cucumis |
Species: | C. sativus
|
Binomial name | |
Cucumis sativus |
The cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely-cultivated
Description
The cucumber is a
The fruit of typical cultivars of cucumber is roughly
Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water (see nutrition table). In
Flowering and pollination
NCBI genome ID | 1639 |
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Ploidy | diploid |
Genome size | 323.99 Mb |
Sequenced organelle | mitochondrion |
Organelle size | 244.82 Mb |
Year of completion | 2011 |
Most cucumber cultivars are seeded and require pollination. For this purpose, thousands of
A few cultivars of cucumber are parthenocarpic, the blossoms of which create seedless fruit without pollination, which degrades the eating quality of these cultivar. In the United States, these are usually grown in greenhouses, where bees are excluded. In Europe, they are grown outdoors in some regions, where bees are likewise excluded.[citation needed]
Traditional cultivars produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. Newer
In 2009, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the cucumber genome.[11]
Herbivore defense
Nutrition, aroma, and taste
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
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Energy | 65 kJ (16 kcal) |
3.63 g | |
Sugars | 1.67 |
Dietary fiber | 0.5 g |
0.11 g | |
0.65 g | |
Niacin (B3) | 1% 0.098 mg |
Pantothenic acid (B5) | 5% 0.259 mg |
Vitamin B6 | 2% 0.04 mg |
Folate (B9) | 2% 7 μg |
Vitamin C | 3% 2.8 mg |
Vitamin K | 14% 16.4 μg |
Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
Calcium | 1% 16 mg |
Iron | 2% 0.28 mg |
Magnesium | 3% 13 mg |
Manganese | 3% 0.079 mg |
Phosphorus | 2% 24 mg |
Potassium | 5% 147 mg |
Sodium | 0% 2 mg |
Zinc | 2% 0.2 mg |
Other constituents | Quantity |
Water | 95.23 g |
Fluoride | 1.3 µg |
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[15] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[16] |
Raw cucumber (with
Depending on variety, cucumbers may have a mild
Varieties
In general cultivation, cucumbers are classified into three main cultivar groups: slicing, pickled, and seedless/burpless.
Uses
Culinary
Slicing
Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers. The main varieties of slicers mature on vines with large leaves that provide shading.[19]
Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have much tougher skin. In contrast, those in other countries, often called European cucumbers, are smaller and have thinner, more delicate skin, often with fewer seeds, thus are often sold in plastic skin for protection. This variety may also be called a telegraph cucumber, particularly in Australasia.[20]
Pickling
Pickling with brine, sugar, vinegar, and spices creates various flavored products from cucumbers and other foods.[21] Although any cucumber can be pickled, commercial pickles are made from cucumbers specially bred for uniformity of length-to-diameter ratio and lack of voids in the flesh. Those cucumbers intended for pickling, called picklers, grow to about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. Compared to slicers, picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, less-regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white or black-dotted spines. Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green.[citation needed]
Gherkin
Gherkins, also called cornichons,[22] or baby pickles, are small cucumbers, typically those 2.5 to 12.5 centimetres (1 to 5 in) in length, often with bumpy skin, which are typically used for pickling.[23][24][25] The word gherkin comes from the early modern Dutch gurken or augurken ('small pickled cucumber').[26] The term is also used in the name for Cucumis anguria, the West Indian gherkin, a closely related species.[27]
Burpless
Burpless cucumbers are sweeter and have a thinner skin than other varieties of cucumber. They are reputed to be easy to digest and to have a pleasant taste. They can grow as long as 60 centimeters (2 ft), are nearly seedless, and have a delicate skin. Most commonly grown in greenhouses, these
Production
Top Cucumber and Gherkin producers | |
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in 2020 | |
Numbers in million FAOSTAT[29] |
In 2020, world production of cucumbers and gherkins was 91 million tonnes, led by China with 80% of the total.[29]
Cultivation history
Cultivated for at least 3,000 years, the cultivated cucumbers "Cucumis sativus" were domesticated in India from wild "C. sativus var. hardwickii".[30][31][32] where a great many varieties have been observed, along with its closest living relative, Cucumis hystrix.[33] Three main cultivar groups of cucumber are namely Eurasian cucumbers (slicing cucumbers eaten raw and immature), East Asian cucumbers (pickling cucumbers) and Xishuangbanna cucumbers. Based on demographic modelling, the East Asian C. sativus cultivars diverged from the Indian cultivars c. 2500 years ago.[34] It was probably introduced to Europe by the Greeks or Romans. Records of cucumber cultivation appear in France in the 9th century, England in the 14th century, and in North America by the mid-16th century.[1][35][36][37]
Roman Empire
According to Pliny the Elder, the Emperor Tiberius had the cucumber on his table daily during summer and winter. In order to have it available for his table every day of the year, the Romans reportedly used artificial methods of growing (similar to the greenhouse system), whereby mirrorstone refers to Pliny's lapis specularis, believed to have been sheet mica:[38][39]
Indeed, he was never without it; for he had raised beds made in frames upon wheels, by means of which the cucumbers were moved and exposed to the full heat of the sun; while, in winter, they were withdrawn, and placed under the protection of frames glazed with mirrorstone.
— Pliny the Elder, Natural History XIX.xxiii, "Vegetables of a Cartilaginous Nature—Cucumbers. Pepones"
Reportedly, they were also cultivated in specularia, cucumber houses glazed with oiled cloth. and remedies from the different types (9 from the cultivated; 5 from the "anguine;" and 26 from the "wild").
Middle Ages
Early-modern age
Throughout the 16th century, European trappers, traders,
In 1630, the Reverend Francis Higginson produced a book called New-Englands Plantation in which, describing a garden on Conant's Island in Boston Harbor known as The Governor's Garden, he states:[44]
The countrie aboundeth naturally with store of roots of great varietie [sic] and good to eat. Our turnips, parsnips, and carrots are here both bigger and sweeter than is ordinary to be found in England. Here are store of pompions, cowcumbers, and other things of that nature which I know not…
In New England Prospect (1633, England), William Wood published observations he made in 1629 in America:[45]
The ground affords very good kitchin gardens, for Turneps, Parsnips, Carrots, Radishes, and Pompions, Muskmillons, Isquoter-squashes, coucumbars, Onyons, and whatever grows well in England grows as well there, many things being better and larger. [sic]
Age of Enlightenment and later
In the later 17th century, a prejudice developed against uncooked vegetables and fruits. A number of articles in contemporary health publications stated that uncooked plants brought on summer diseases and should be forbidden to children. The cucumber kept this reputation for an inordinate period of time, "fit only for consumption by cows," which some believe is why it gained the name, cowcumber.[citation needed]
Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary on 22 August 1663:[46]
[T]his day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newburne is dead of eating cowcumbers, of which the other day I heard of another, I think.
According to 18th-century British writer Samuel Johnson, it was commonly said among English physicians that a cucumber “should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.”[47]
A copper etching made by Maddalena Bouchard between 1772 and 1793 shows this plant to have smaller, almost bean-shaped fruits, and small yellow flowers. The small form of the cucumber is figured in Herbals of the 16th century, however stating that "[i]f hung in a tube while in blossom, the Cucumber will grow to a most surprising length."[citation needed]
Gallery
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Salad cucumber
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An Indian yellow cucumber
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A Scandinavian cucumber in slices
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Grated cucumber
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Komkommer (Cucumis sativus 'Gele Tros')
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A varietal grown by the Hmong people with textured skin and large seeds
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Lemon cucumber
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Dish with cucumber cut pieces (mizeria)
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Pickling cucumbers
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Gherkins
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Leaves
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A tendril emerges from cucumber vines to facilitate climbing
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A string lattice supports vine growth
See also
- Armenian cucumber, a variety of melon that resembles a cucumber
- Cucumber blessing
- Cucumber cake
- Cucumber juice
- Cucumber raita
- Cucumber sandwich
- Cucumber soda
- Cucumber soup
- Sea cucumber, named for its resemblance to the fruit
References
- ^ a b "Cucumber." Encyclopædia Britannica. [1998] 2019.
- JSTOR 2260151.
- .
- .
- ^ "Cucumis sativus L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ISSN 1462-0316.
- ISBN 9780128134337.
- S2CID 92837522.
- ^ "Cucumber". Fruit or Vegetable?. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9780442267216.
- PMID 19881527.
- S2CID 206561241.
- ^ S2CID 73431225.
- S2CID 239035917.
- ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- )
- .
- S2CID 206561241.
- ^ "Cucumbers: Planting, growing, and harvesting cucumbers". Old Farmer's Almanac, Yankee Publishing, Inc., Dublin, NH. 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ Cucumber – 5+ a day, New Zealand Retrieved 18 May 2018
- ^ Avi, Torey (3 September 2014). "History in a jar: The story of pickles". Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "What's The Deal With Cornichons?". The Kitchn. 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "Gherkins". Venlo, Netherlands: Zon. 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "Cucumbers" (PDF). University of California-Davis: Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, US Department of Agriculture. May 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "Cucumbers and gherkins". Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "Word origin and history for gherkin". Dictionary.com. 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "West Indian gherkin, Cucumis anguria L." Plants for a Future. 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ Jordan-Reilly, Melissa (15 September 2013). "Why do cucumbers upset my digestion?". LiveStrong.com.
- ^ a b "2019 Production of cucumbers and gherkins; from pick lists: World regions/Production Quantity". FAOSTAT of the United Nations. 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- .
- .
- ISSN 1462-0316.
- ^ Asian News International. 21 July 2010. "Cucumber, melon's common ancestor originated in Asia." NewsTrack India. Retrieved on 4 June 2020.
- ISSN 0028-646X.
- PMID 17425784.
- ISBN 1-56022-901-2. p. 281.
- .
- ^ ISBN 978-0-345-40102-1.
- ^ Pliny the Elder. [77–79 AD] 1855. "Vegetables of a Cartilaginous Nature—Cucumbers. Pepones Archived 5 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine." Ch. 23 in The Natural History XIX, translated by J. Bostock and H. T. Riley. London: Taylor & Francis. – via Perseus under PhiloLogic, also available via Perseus Project.
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History XX.iii Archived 5 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History XX.iv Archived 5 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine–v Archived 5 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 9781603584401.
- ISBN 9782881244650.
- OCLC 1049892552. p. 5.
- ^ Wood, William. (1634). "Of the Hearbes, Fruites, Woods, Waters and Mineralls", pp. 13–18 in New England Prospect. London.
- ^ Saturday 22 August 1663 (Pepys' Diary). Pepysdiary.com. Retrieved on 25 November 2012.
- ^ Boswell, James (1832). The Life of Samuel Johnson: Including A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, Volumen 1. Carter, Hendee and Company. p. 423. Retrieved 29 March 2024.