Cucumber

The cucumber is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up trellises or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling tendrils.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P43fDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|title=Cucumis sativus, Cucumber; Chapter 16 in: Unconventional Oilseeds and Oil Sources|last1=Mariod|first1=Abdalbasit Adam|last2=Mirghani|first2=Mohamed Elwathig Saeed|last3=Hussein|first3=Ismail Hassan|date=2017-04-14|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=9780128134337}} The plant may also root in a soilless medium, whereby it will sprawl along the ground in lieu of a supporting structure. The vine has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruits.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The fruit of typical cultivars of cucumber is roughly cylindrical, but elongated with tapered ends, and may be as large as {{convert|62|cm|in|sp=us}} long and {{convert|10|cm|in|sp=us|0}} in diameter.{{cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Tingting|last2=Li|first2=Xvzhen|last3=Yang|first3=Yuting|last4=Guo|first4=Xiao|last5=Feng|first5=Qin|last6=Dong|first6=Xiangyu|last7=Chen|first7=Shuxia|title=Genetic analysis and QTL mapping of fruit length and diameter in a cucumber (Cucumber sativus L.) recombinant inbred line (RIL) population|journal=Scientia Horticulturae|volume=250|year=2019|pages=214–222|doi=10.1016/j.scienta.2019.01.062|bibcode=2019ScHor.250..214Z |s2cid=92837522}}

Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water (see nutrition table). In botanical terms, the cucumber is classified as a pepo, a type of botanical berry with a hard outer rind and no internal divisions. However, much like tomatoes and squashes, it is often perceived, prepared, and eaten as a vegetable.{{cite web | url = https://fruitorvegetable.science/cucumber | title = Cucumber | website = Fruit or Vegetable? | access-date=2019-12-05 }}

File:Cucumis sativus 0002.JPG

{{Infobox genome

| image =

| caption =

| taxId = 1639

| ploidy = diploid

| chromosomes =

| size = 323.99 Mb

| year =

| organelle = mitochondrion

| organelle-size = 244.82 Mb

| organelle-year = 2011

}}

Most cucumber cultivars are seeded and require pollination. For this purpose, thousands of honey beehives are annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom. Cucumbers may also be pollinated via bumblebees and several other bee species. Most cucumbers that require pollination are self-incompatible, thus requiring the pollen of another plant in order to form seeds and fruit.{{cite book |author=Nonnecke, I.L. |year=1989 |title=Vegetable Production |publisher=Springer |isbn=9780442267216 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7i8QJw8BJsC }} Some self-compatible cultivars exist that are related to the 'Lemon cucumber' cultivar.

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|date=February 2021}}

Traditional cultivars produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. Newer gynoecious hybrid cultivars produce almost all female blossoms. They may have a pollenizer cultivar interplanted, and the number of beehives per unit area is increased, but temperature changes induce male flowers even on these plants, which may be sufficient for pollination to occur.

In 2009, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the cucumber genome.{{Cite journal|last1=Huang|first1=S.|last2=Li|first2=R.|last3=Zhang|first3=Z.|last4=Li|first4=L.|last5=Gu|first5=X.|last6=Fan|first6=W.|last7=Lucas|first7=W.|last8=Wang|first8=X.|last9=Xie|first9=B.|last10=Ni|first10=P.|last11=Ren|first11=Y.|display-authors=4|year=2009|title=The genome of the cucumber, Cucumis sativus L|journal=Nature Genetics|volume=41|issue=12|pages=1275–81|doi=10.1038/ng.475|pmid=19881527|doi-access=free|first28=J.|first26=G.|last27=Lu|first27=Y.|last28=Ruan|first12=H.|last29=Qian|first29=W.|last30=Wang|first30=M.|first25=Y.|last26=Tian|last25=Ren|last13=Li|first18=J.|first13=J.|last14=Lin|first14=K.|last15=Jin|first15=W.|last16=Fei|first16=Z.|last17=Li|first17=G.|last18=Staub|last12=Zhu|first24=Z.|first19=A.|last20=Van Der Vossen|first20=E. A. G.|last21=Wu|first21=Y.|last22=Guo|first22=J.|last23=He|first23=J.|last24=Jia|last19=Kilian}}

A study of genetic recombination during meiosis in cucumber provided a high resolution landscape of meiotic DNA double strand-breaks and genetic crossovers.{{cite journal |vauthors=Wang Y, Dong Z, Ma Y, Zheng Y, Huang S, Yang X |title=Comprehensive dissection of meiotic DNA double-strand breaks and crossovers in cucumber |journal=Plant Physiol |volume=193 |issue=3 |pages=1913–1932 |date=October 2023 |pmid=37530486 |pmc=10602612 |doi=10.1093/plphys/kiad432 |url=}} The average number of crossovers per chromosome per meiosis was 0.92 to 0.99.

Phytochemicals in cucumbers may discourage natural foraging by herbivores, such as insects, nematodes or wildlife.{{cite journal |display-authors=3| vauthors = Shang Y, Ma Y, Zhou Y, Zhang H, Duan L, Chen H, Zeng J, Zhou Q, Wang S, Gu W, Liu M, Ren J, Gu X, Zhang S, Wang Y, Yasukawa K, Bouwmeester HJ, Qi X, Zhang Z, Lucas WJ, Huang S | title = Plant science. Biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber | journal = Science | volume = 346 | issue = 6213 | pages = 1084–8 | date = November 2014 | pmid = 25430763 | doi = 10.1126/science.1259215 | bibcode = 2014Sci...346.1084S | s2cid = 206561241 }} As a possible defense mechanism, cucumbers produce cucurbitacin C,{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Zhiqiang |last2=Li |first2=Yawen |last3=Cao |first3=Chunyu |last4=Liang |first4=Shan |last5=Ma |first5=Yongshuo |last6=Liu |first6=Xin |last7=Pei |first7=Yanxi |title=The role of H2S in low temperature-induced cucurbitacin C increases in cucumber |journal=Plant Molecular Biology |date=February 2019 |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=535–544 |doi=10.1007/s11103-019-00834-w |pmid=30707394 |bibcode=2019PMolB..99..535L |s2cid=73431225}} which causes a bitter taste in some cucumber varieties. This potential mechanism is under preliminary research to identify whether cucumbers are able to deter herbivores and environmental stresses by using an intrinsic chemical defense, particularly in the leaves, cotyledons, pedicel, carpopodium, and fruit.{{Cite journal |last=He |first=Jun |title=Terpene Synthases in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and Their Contribution to Herbivore-induced Volatile Terpenoid Emission |journal=New Phytologist |year=2022 |volume=233 |issue=2 |pages=862–877|doi=10.1111/nph.17814 |pmid=34668204 |pmc=9299122 |bibcode=2022NewPh.233..862H |hdl=11245.1/e4b87361-6747-409a-a897-0e3939f560c0 |s2cid=239035917 }}

{{nutritional value | name=Cucumber, with peel, raw

| water=95.23 g

| kJ=65

| protein=0.65 g

| fat=0.11 g

| carbs=3.63 g

| fiber=0.5 g

| sugars=1.67

| calcium_mg=16

| iron_mg=0.28

| magnesium_mg=13

| phosphorus_mg=24

| potassium_mg=147

| sodium_mg=2

| zinc_mg=0.2

| manganese_mg=0.079

| vitC_mg=2.8

| thiamin_mg=0.027

| riboflavin_mg=0.033

| niacin_mg=0.098

| pantothenic_mg=0.259

| vitB6_mg=0.04

| folate_ug=7

| vitK_ug=16.4

| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168409/nutrients Link to USDA database entry]

}}

Raw cucumber (with peel) is 95% water, 4% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat. A {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=off|adj=on|frac=2}} reference serving provides {{convert|65|kJ|kcal|abbr=off}} of food energy. It has a low content of micronutrients: it is notable only for vitamin K, at 14% of the Daily Value (table).

Depending on variety, cucumbers may have a mild melon aroma and flavor, in part resulting from unsaturated aldehydes, such as {{nowrap|(E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal}}, and the cis- and trans- isomers of 2-nonenal.{{cite journal|last1=Schieberle|first1=P.|last2=Ofner|first2=S.|last3=Grosch|first3=W.|year=1990|title=Evaluation of Potent Odorants in Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) and Muskmelons (Cucumis melo) by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis|journal=Journal of Food Science|volume=55|pages=193–195|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2621.1990.tb06050.x}} The slightly bitter taste of cucumber rind results from cucurbitacins.{{cite journal|last1=Shang|first1=Y|last2=Ma|first2=Y|last3=Zhou|first3=Y|last4=Zhang|first4=H|last5=Duan|first5=L|last6=Chen|first6=H|last7=Zeng|first7=J|last8=Zhou|first8=Q|last9=Wang|first9=S|last10=Gu|first10=W|last11=Liu|first11=M|year=2014|title=Plant science. Biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber|journal=Science|volume=346|issue=6213|pages=1084–8|doi=10.1126/science.1259215|pmid=25430763|last12=Ren|first17=H. J.|last21=Huang|first20=W. J.|last20=Lucas|first19=Z|last19=Zhang|first18=X|last18=Qi|last17=Bouwmeester|first12=J|first16=K|last16=Yasukawa|first15=Y|last15=Wang|first14=S|last14=Zhang|first13=X|last13=Gu|first21=S|bibcode=2014Sci...346.1084S|s2cid=206561241}}

Research from 2018 found that polyphenol content was higher in unpeeled cucumbers.Yunusa, Alkasim & Dandago, Munir Abba & Ibrahim, Sa’adatu & Abdullahi, Nura & Tsoho, Adamu Usman & Barde, Aminu. (2018). Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Capacity of Different Parts of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Acta Universitatis Cibiniensis. Series E: Food Technology. 22. 13-20. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330477179_Total_Phenolic_Content_and_Antioxidant_Capacity_of_Different_Parts_of_Cucumber_Cucumis_sativus_L 10.2478/aucft-2018-0008.]

{{See also|List of cucumber varieties}}

File:Cucumbers_3_Sikkim_Armenian_Lemon.png

In general cultivation, cucumbers are classified into three main cultivar groups: slicing, pickling, and seedless/burpless.

{{Cookbook|Cucumber}}

Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers. The main varieties of slicers mature on vines with large leaves that provide shading.{{cite web|url=http://www.almanac.com/plant/cucumbers|title=Cucumbers: Planting, growing, and harvesting cucumbers|publisher=Old Farmer's Almanac, Yankee Publishing, Inc., Dublin, NH|date=2016|access-date=11 August 2016}}

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.[http://www.5aday.co.nz/facts-and-tips/fruit-vegetable-info/cucumber/ Cucumber – 5+ a day, New Zealand] Retrieved 18 May 2018

{{Main|Pickled cucumber}}

File:Cucumbers on skewers - Enoshima, Japan - DSC07614.jpg pickled cucumbers sold as street food on Enoshima island]]

Pickling with brine, sugar, vinegar, and spices creates various flavored products from cucumbers and other foods.{{cite web|author1=Avi, Torey|title=History in a jar: The story of pickles|url=http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-pickles/|publisher=Public Broadcasting Service|access-date=13 November 2017|date=3 September 2014}} 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 {{convert|7|to|10|cm|in|abbr=on|0}} long and {{convert|2.5|cm|in|abbr=on|0}} 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|date=February 2021}}

Gherkins, also called cornichons,{{cite web|title=What's The Deal With Cornichons?|work=Kitchn |url=http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-deal-with-cornichons-117240|publisher=The Kitchn|access-date=13 November 2017|date=2017}} or baby pickles, are small cucumbers, typically those {{convert|1|to|5|in|cm|round=0.5|order=flip}} in length, often with bumpy skin, which are typically used for pickling.{{cite web|title=Gherkins|url=http://www.royalzon.com/en/consumer/fruit-vegetables/gherkins|publisher=Zon|access-date=13 November 2017|location=Venlo, Netherlands|date=2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114040538/http://www.royalzon.com/en/consumer/fruit-vegetables/gherkins|archive-date=14 November 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Cucumbers|url=http://www.wifss.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/FDA_WIFSS_-Cucumbers_PDF.pdf|publisher=Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, US Department of Agriculture|access-date=13 November 2017|location=University of California-Davis|date=May 2016}}{{cite web|title=Cucumbers and gherkins|url=http://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/SubHead_Products/Cucumber_and_Gherkins.htm|publisher=Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Government of India|access-date=13 November 2017|date=2015}} The word gherkin comes from the early modern Dutch gurken or augurken ('small pickled cucumber').{{cite dictionary|title=Word origin and history for gherkin|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gherkin|dictionary=Dictionary.com|access-date=13 November 2017|date=2017}} The term is also used in the name for Cucumis anguria, the West Indian gherkin, a closely related species.{{cite web|title=West Indian gherkin, Cucumis anguria L.|url=http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cucumis+anguria|publisher=Plants for a Future|access-date=13 November 2017|date=2012}}

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 {{convert|2|ft|cm|sp=us|order=flip|-1}}, are nearly seedless, and have a delicate skin. Most commonly grown in greenhouses, these parthenocarpic cucumbers are often found in grocery markets, shrink-wrapped in plastic. They are marketed as either burpless or seedless, as the seeds and skin of other varieties of cucumbers are said to give some people gas.{{cite web|last=Jordan-Reilly|first=Melissa|title=Why do cucumbers upset my digestion?|url=http://www.livestrong.com/article/471722-why-do-cucumbers-upset-my-digestion/|publisher=LiveStrong.com|date=15 September 2013 }}

=== Shoots ===

Cucumber shoots are regularly consumed as a vegetable, especially in rural areas. In Thailand they are often served with a crab meat sauce. They can also be stir fried or used in soups.{{cite book |last1=Hutton |first1=Wendy |title=A Cook's Guide to Asian Vegetables |date=2004 |publisher=Periplus Editions |location=Singapore |isbn=0794600786 |pages=42–43}}

In 2022, world production of cucumbers and gherkins was 95 million tonnes, led by China with 82% of the total.

Cultivated for at least 3,000 years, the cultivated cucumbers "Cucumis sativus" were domesticated in India from wild "C. sativus var. hardwickii". where a great many varieties have been observed, along with its closest living relative, Cucumis hystrix.Asian News International. 21 July 2010. "[http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/170033 Cucumber, melon's common ancestor originated in Asia]." NewsTrack India. Retrieved on 4 June 2020. The three main cultivar groups of cucumber are 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 about 2,500 years ago.{{cite journal |last1=Chomicki |first1=Guillaume |last2=Schaefer |first2=Hanno |last3=Renner |first3=Susanne S. |title=Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology |journal=New Phytologist |date=June 2020 |volume=226 |issue=5 |pages=1240–1255 |doi=10.1111/nph.16015 |language=en |issn=0028-646X|doi-access=free |pmid=31230355 |bibcode=2020NewPh.226.1240C }} 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.{{cite journal|last1=Renner|first1=SS|last2=Schaefer|first2=H|last3=Kocyan|first3=A|year=2007|title=Phylogenetics of Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae): Cucumber (C. sativus) belongs in an Asian/Australian clade far from melon (C. melo)|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology|volume=7|issue=1 |page=58|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-7-58|pmc=3225884|pmid=17425784 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007BMCEE...7...58R }}

Doijode, S. D. 2001. Seed storage of horticultural crops. Haworth Press. {{ISBN|1-56022-901-2}}. p. 281.{{cite journal|doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.41.3.571|title=Taxonomic Relationships of A Rare Cucumis Species (C. hystrix Chakr.) and Its Interspecific Hybrid with Cucumber|year=2006|last1=Zhuang|first1=Fei-Yun|last2=Chen|first2=Jin-Feng|last3=Staub|first3=Jack E.|last4=Qian|first4=Chun-Tao|journal=HortScience|volume=41|issue=3|pages=571–574|doi-access=free}}

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 growing methods (similar to the greenhouse system) using mirrorstone, Pliny's lapis specularis, believed to have been sheet mica:{{cite book|author1=James, Peter J. |author2=Thorpe, Nick |author3=Thorpe, I. J. |title=Ancient Inventions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmJLd3sSYecC|year=1995|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=978-0-345-40102-1|chapter=Ch. 12, Sport and Leusure: Roman Gardening Technology|page=563}}Pliny the Elder. [77–79 AD] 1855. "[http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2019.23 Vegetables of a Cartilaginous Nature—Cucumbers. Pepones] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605044058/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2019.23 |date=5 June 2020 }}." Ch. 23 in The Natural History XIX, translated by J. Bostock and H. T. Riley. London: Taylor & Francis. – via Perseus under PhiloLogic, also [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D19%3Achapter%3D23 available] via Perseus Project.

{{Blockquote|text=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.|author=Pliny the Elder|title=Natural History XIX.xxiii|source="Vegetables of a Cartilaginous Nature—Cucumbers. Pepones"}}

Reportedly, they were also cultivated in specularia, cucumber houses glazed with oiled cloth. Pliny describes the Italian fruit as very small, probably like a gherkin. He also describes the preparation of a medication known as elaterium. However, some scholars{{who|date=February 2013}} believe that he was instead referring to Ecballium elaterium, known in pre-Linnean times as Cucumis silvestris or Cucumis asininus ('wild cucumber' or 'donkey cucumber'), a species different from the common cucumber.Pliny the Elder, Natural History XX.[http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2020.3 iii] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605043843/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2020.3 |date=5 June 2020 }}. Pliny also writes about several other varieties of cucumber, including the cultivated cucumber,Pliny the Elder, Natural History XX.[http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2020.4 iv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605043845/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2020.4 |date=5 June 2020 }}–[http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2020.5 v] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605043846/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=LatinAugust2012&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2020.5 |date=5 June 2020 }}. and remedies from the different types (9 from the cultivated; 5 from the "anguine;" and 26 from the "wild").

Charlemagne had cucumbers grown in his gardens in the 8th/9th century. They were reportedly introduced into England in the early 14th century, lost, then reintroduced approximately 250 years later. The Spaniards (through the Italian Christopher Columbus) brought cucumbers to Haiti in 1494. In 1535, Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, found "very great cucumbers" grown on the site of what is now Montreal.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/history.html|title=A Brief History of Cucumbers, From Producing Vegetable Crops by Swiader et al; and A History of Horticulture in America to 1860 by U.P. Hedrick.| website = B's Cucumber Pages|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001163816/http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/history.html |archive-date=1 October 2007 }}

File:Trans-2,cis-6-Nonadienal.png, or cucumber aldehyde, is a component of the distinctive aroma of cucumbers.|alt=trans,cis-2,6-Nonadienal, or cucumber aldehyde|250px]]

Throughout the 16th century, European trappers, traders, bison hunters, and explorers bartered for the products of American Indian agriculture. The tribes of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains learned from the Spanish how to grow European crops. The farmers on the Great Plains included the Mandan and Abenaki. They obtained cucumbers and watermelons from the Spanish, and added them to the crops they were already growing, including several varieties of corn and beans, pumpkins, squash, and gourd plants.{{cite book|title=Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and why They Matter|pages=109|last=Buchanan|first=David|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|location=VT, USA|isbn=9781603584401|year=2012}} The Iroquois were also growing them when the first Europeans visited them.{{cite book |last1=Kuhnlein |first1=H. V. |author-link=Harriet V. Kuhnlein |title=Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples: Nutrition, Botany and Use |last2=Turner |first2=N. J. |publisher=Gordon and Breach |year=1996 |isbn=9782881244650 |location=Amsterdam, Netherlands |pages=159}}

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:Higginson, Francis. [1630] 1906. New-Englands Plantation. Salem, MA: Essex Book and Print Club. {{OCLC|1049892552}}. [https://archive.org/details/newenglandsplant00higgrich/page/24/mode/2up?q=turnips p. 5].

The countrie aboundeth naturally with store of roots of great {{Sic|varietie}} 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...

{{Sic|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.}}

File:Lobster, Crab, and a Cucumber - 1891P32.jpg (watercolour, 1826 or 1827)]]

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|date=February 2021}}

Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary on 22 August 1663:[http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1663/08/22/ Saturday 22 August 1663 (Pepys' Diary)]. Pepysdiary.com. Retrieved on 25 November 2012.

[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.

John Evelyn in 1699 wrote that the cucumber, 'however dress'd, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than poyson (poison)'.{{Cite book |last=Evelyn |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiXbAAAAMAAJ |title=Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets |date=1699 |publisher=Prospect Books |isbn=978-0-907325-12-3 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Jan |title=Pickles: A Global History (Edible) |date=2018-07-15 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=9781780239194}}

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."{{cite book |last1=Boswell |first1=James |title=The Life of Samuel Johnson: Including A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, Volumen 1 |date=1832 |publisher=Carter, Hendee and Company |page=423 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKAEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA423 |access-date=29 March 2024}}

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|date=February 2021}}

File:Organic Gardener Holding a Fresh Salad Cucumber.jpg|Salad cucumber

File:An Indian yellow cucumber.jpg|An Indian yellow cucumber

File:Kurkkuja.jpg|A Scandinavian cucumber in slices

File:Cucumber grated.jpg|Grated cucumber

File:Komkommer (Cucumis sativus 'Gele Tros').jpg|Komkommer (Cucumis sativus 'Gele Tros')

File:Hmong cucumber.jpg|A varietal grown by the Hmong people with textured skin and large seeds

File:Lemon cucumber J1.JPG|Lemon cucumber

File:Mizeria.jpg|Dish with cucumber cut pieces (mizeria)

File:PicklingCucumbers.jpg|Pickling cucumbers

File:Spreewaldgurke2.jpg|Gherkins

File:Persiancucumber.jpg|Isfahan burpless cucumber, Iran

File:Leaves of Cucumber (a creeping vine plant).jpg|Leaves

File:Cucumber vine in New Jersey.jpg|A tendril emerges from cucumber vines to facilitate climbing

File:Cucumbers growing on a string lattice structure.jpg|A string lattice supports vine growth

File:Cucumber hanging on the vine.JPG|A bulb-shaped cucumber hanging on the vine

File:Cucumber plants.jpg|Cucumber plant

File:Harvested vegetables(Cucumbers).jpg|Harvested Cucumber among other vegetables

File:Harvested vegetables(Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Aubergine) 2.jpg|Harvested cucumber among other vegetables

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• 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

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Category:Fruit vegetables

Category:Plants described in 1753