Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as vegetables.[1] Considered an annual plant,[2] there are three main varieties of cucumber — slicing, pickling, and burpless/seedless — within which several cultivars have been created.In North America, the term wild cucumber refers to plants in the genera Echinocystis and Marah, though the two are not closely related.[3] The plant may also root in a soilless medium, whereby it will sprawl along the ground in lieu of a supporting structure.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 a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving, raw cucumber (with peel) is 95% water, 4% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat.Cucumber provides 67 kilojoules (16 kilocalories) of food energy, and supplies low content of micronutrients, as it is notable only for vitamin K at 16% 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 (E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal, and the cis- and trans- isomers of 2-nonenal.Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have much tougher skin.Pickling with brine, sugar, vinegar, and spices creates various flavored products from cucumbers and other foods.Compared to slicers, picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, less-regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white or black-dotted spines.[17] The term is also used in the name for Cucumis anguria, the West Indian gherkin, a closely related species.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.Production of cucumbers and gherkins, 2019 Country (millions of tonnes) China 70.3 Turkey 1.9 Russia 1.6 Ukraine 1.0 Iran 0.9 World 87.8 Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations[20].Cultivated for at least 3,000 years, the cucumber originated from India, where a great many varieties have been observed, along with its closest living relative, Cucumis hystrix.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:[25][26].In 1535, Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, found "very great cucumbers" grown on the site of what is now Montreal.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.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.The countrie aboundeth naturally with store of roots of great varietie [sic] and good to eat.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.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.
Edward R. Forte
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