As someone who loves vegetable, I don’t feel you truly have a complete summer garden unless there are a few cucumber plants tucked in there somewhere. It’s not that I love eating cucumbers so much as I enjoy their explosive growth. One day their tiny like in the picture and the next they’re ready for the salad bowl. The problem is when one is ready, it seems a whole bunch are also. I can remember many a time when I would carry a basket full over to neighbor’s homes only to be turned away because they also had a surplus.
This ability to grow is no surprise if you know that cucumbers are a member of the squash family. Their cultivation goes way back in time. The Roman Emperor Tiberius had a cucumber served on his table daily during summer and even during the winter. This was accomplished by means of raised beds made in frames upon wheels. Cucumber that were grown in them were moved and exposed to the full heat of the sun; while, in winter, they were withdrawn, and placed under the protection of frames glazed with mirror stone. He must have really liked the taste, I guess.
One way that I enjoy this member of the Cucurbitaceae family is to take equal parts of vinegar and water with a little sugar in a sealable plastic container into which go thin slices of cucumber and white onion. This is allowed to sit in the fridge for a week or more and then is eaten. This taste is pretty good and is improved if you sprinkle a little salt and pepper on them. This is also a good method to preserve them as I know of people who will make up gallon batches for use all summer.
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