You will probably save cucumbers wrong – here actually works here
Although cucumbers are best eaten within two to three days, most of the unwashed cucumbers can stay fresh for up to seven days if they are stored in the fridge in a damp environment, such as:
In summer I love throwing cucumbers in a salad, combining them with dips or using them to make one Refresh starter. To fight this, some domestic chefs and chefs swear by specific washing or storage methods.
Becky SeleutCook and cookbook author of Misunderstood vegetables, He tells me that she believes that the English cucumbers that were firmly sold in plastic keep the longest, especially if they select one with very firm ends. However, if she has to store unpacked cucumbers, it holds it in a fabric or plastic bag that is not completely sealed to prevent moisture from accumulating. In a conversation with Ariela Gottschalk, owner of Halcyon FarmsGottschalk announces that she does not save her Persian cucumbers at room temperature on the kitchen counter.
With the cucumber time in full swing, I decided to test different methods to find out that can keep the best cukes fresh as long as possible.
Cucumber basics
There are numerous types of cucumber, but only a few are easy to find on the grocery store or in the farmers markets. Cucumbers that are botanically a fruit are part of the Cucurbitaceae (Pumpkin) family that also includes Sweet melons And Pumpkin. Like their relatives, they are most frequently used in hearty dishes.
Harold McGee noticed in On food and cook These cucumbers were originally around 1500 BC. In India originally domesticated and spread quickly all over the world. The Roman emperor Tiberius reports that cucumbers, and Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, also grew the pumpkin in his Italian gardens. Christopher Columbus presented cucumbers in Haiti in 1494; From there they made their way to America.
Cucumbers have a wide range of colors, textures and flavors. Some of the most popular varieties in the United States are today: the standard -American snucumber cucumber that has relatively large seeds and thick skin; the small, thin -skinned Persian cucumber; the long, thin English cucumber (which is often sold individually from plastic); And the short, blunt Kirby cucumber that is usually used for soaking. The buyers of farmers’ market can encounter heirs on varieties such as the round lemon cucumber, the blonde cucumber from Oval Boothby, the light yellow white miracle and the Japanese climbing cucumber.
Since cucumbers are very different in shape, size and skin type, it is difficult to give half a memory consultant. In order to find the best approach to the most common cucumber varieties in the US markets, we tested how washing, cooling and humidity affect your durability.
Serious food / Nader Mehravari
How to keep cucumbers, according to the experts
According to the Ministry of Plant Sciences on University of California, Davis, The best temperature for the storage of cucumbers after the harvest is between 10 and 13 ° C between 50 and 55 ° F, which is a little colder than room temperature, but warmer than most refrigerators. Calcare temperatures can lead to cool injuries – such as ferthamating, soft or black mold – after only two to three days.
UC Davis also recommends saving cucumbers with a relative humidity of around 95% to prevent moisture loss and shrinking. Cucumbers are sensitive to ethylene, a gas that is generated by some types of fruit and vegetables when they mature. For this reason, UC Davis recommends storing cucumbers such as bananas, melons and tomatoes.
How to shop for cucumber
Cara Mangini, author of durability to maximize durability The vegetables butcher, Recommends the selection of cucumbers that are light green and evenly colored. Avoid all that are yellow or brown, unless you choose an inheritance variety with naturally yellow or brown skin. In her book, Mangini also advises when choosing cucumbers that are firm, especially for the tips that are first softer. Be sure to avoid soft or wrinkled cucumbers.
The tests
I wanted to test various factors for the storage of cucumbers: wash against unwashed, cooling compared to room temperatures and moist environments compared to those with a good air flow. I used three common grocery stores: small, thin -skinned Persian cucumber; Thick -skinned American carriage kitchen; And long, thin -skinned English cucumbers that are typically sold.
Test one: has to be washed a difference?
I started testing different washing methods, where I only used Persian cucumber to consistently keep the results consistently. All samples were stored on my kitchen counter at room temperature, approx. 18 ° C.
Here are the variables that I tested:
- Cucumber unwashed, wrapped in a clean paper towel and stored in a sealed reusable zipper bag
- Cucumber washed in 15 ° C water
- Cucumber washed in 120 ° F (49 ° C) water
- Cucumber that was washed in a solution of four parts 60 ° F (15 ° C) water and part of white distilled vinegar
- Cucumber in a solution of four parts 120 ° F (49 ° C) water and part of white distilled vinegar
- Cucumber washed in vodka
Some produce, such as Strawberrieslonger longer if they are washed, while others, such as Cherriesnot. For my first test I wrapped a single Persian cucumber into a dry paper towel and sealed it in a zipper bag than my control. I then washed the remaining cucumbers with the methods mentioned above. I saved them all at room temperature on the counter.
The unwashed cucumber that was wrapped in a paper towel and placed in a zipper bag remained fresh. After seven days, all the washed cucumbers had started browning, folding or showing mold. Although the paper towel wrapped around the cucumber was moist, the unwashed cucumber still felt firm and looked edible.
The cucumbers of the vodka-washed and vinegar solutions came in a distant second or third place. Although they did not think as good as control, I decided to bring these two methods into the next test round with additional gurk types.
Test two: washing, expanded to two more common cucumber varieties
After identifying the most effective and most promising washing methods for Persian cucumber, I turned them on to two additional types: a waxed American cutting cucumber and an naughty, English cucumber with plastic packaging. I left all cucumbers at room temperature (65 ° f/18 ° C).
The methods I tested were:
Awake American cutting cucumber
- Unwashed
- Unknown, wrapped in clean paper towels and kept in a zipper bag
- Washed 120 ° F (49 ° C) in a solution of four parts up to 1 part vinegar
- Washed in vodka
Unberged English cucumbers
- Unhecense English cucumber with plastic
- Unsimined English cucumber with plastic, unwashed, wrapped in paper towel and placed in a zipper bag
- Unsimined English cucumber with a removed plastic, in four parts of water (120 ° f/49 ° C) to 1 part of vinegar washed
- Unsimined English cucumber that was washed in vodka
For the American snucumber, the winner was the unwashed Cuke, which was wrapped in a paper towel and kept in a zipper bag. After four days, all other rehearsals had started to fold, while the sack remained firm and firm, even though a small amount of mold formed at one end.
For the English cucumber, it was left in its original plastic film. After four days, those who had been packed and/or washed began to shrink, soft or yellow, while the wrapped remained wrapped up and remained light green.
Test three: is cooling important?
After I found that unwashed cucumbers were best kept up, I decided to test whether the cooling made a difference. These are the tests I carried out:
- Unserved English cucumber, calmly calm in their original plastic film and stored in the crisp drawer
- Unwashed waxed American and naughty English cucumber, loosely kept in the sharper drawer
- Unwashed waxed American and naughty English cucumber, wrapped in paper towels, wrapped in zipper bags and stored in a crisp drawer
In any case, the chilled cucumbers stayed fresh longer than at room temperature. The cucumbers stored at room temperature began to fold, moisture or mold within three days. The waxed American cucumber that was wrapped in a paper towel and kept in a zipper bag remained fresh for five days, while the English cucumber with plastic took seven days and no visible signs of spoiling.
Serious Este / Irvin Lin
Important snack bars and conclusion
The winners were the unwashed cucumbers that were stored in the refrigerator, either in a crisp drawer or in a zipper bag. Kyle Hagerty from Urban farmstead Tell me: “Cucumbers are mainly water, so they become soft when drying. The thicker (a cucumber) skin, the slower it dries.
Cucumbers begin to break down as soon as they are harvested, and most American commercial cucumber producers coat their cukes in wax to prevent them from drying out. When cucumbers soften and lose moisture, they lose their characteristic crunch. Saving cucumbers in a damp environment helps to prevent this: the more moisture in the air, the more difficult it is that the water can escape in cucumbers. Both the wax coating and the plastic film act as obstacles that reduce the loss of moisture, which probably explains why unwashed and still packaged cucumber overtook those that were washed or packed.
Simon Richard, the producer manager at California BI-rite markets It is true: “I would not wash any of the cukes before storage. Regular table cucumbers (such as American damage to cucumbers) have thick skin and storage in a fridge longer, regardless of whether they are in a compostable product bag or in a plastic bag. The Japanese, Persian and English cucumbers have much thinner. Makes fruit more susceptible to corruptness.
If you plan to eat your cucumbers within two to three days, it doesn’t matter how you keep them – they will be witted on the counter for so long. However, if you do not intend to use them immediately, it is best to keep them in a damp environment unwashed and cooled, either in the sharper drawer or in a reclassifying zipper bag. If your cucumber is wrapped in plastic film or a container, leave it that way. Your goal is cool and moist. In the event of proper storage, cucumbers can take five to seven days or even longer depending on the variety.
Quick tips for cucumber purchases and storage
- Buy fixed, bright and evenly colored cucumbers, free of mistakes and wrinkles. Pay particular attention to the goals of the cucumber for strength, as you get softer first.
- If your cucumber is wrapped in plastic or is delivered in a plastic container, leave them in there. If not, put them in a product bag or a Ziploc bag (not sealed)
- Place the cucumber in a crisp drawer if you don’t want to use a bag.
- Cool immediately.