Food glossary

Cucumber

Cucumber

One of the main ingredients in salads, cucumbers have a refreshing taste and their dark green slightly chewy skin provides a contrasting texture to the juicy white smooth interior. A ripe cucumber should be firm, not squashy and the skin should be blemish-free. Available all year.

Uses: Add to salads, sandwiches or to cooling dips such as raita or tzatziki. Slices of cucumber can be used as a garnish.

To store: Keep in the salad drawer of the fridge for up to 5 days.

To prepare: Cucumbers do not need peeling, simply remove the ends and wash, then slice, dice or cut into chunks. To make an attractive edge on the slices, score the skin lengthways with the prongs of a fork before slicing it.