Can I freeze fresh cucumbers?

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asked May 14, 2022 in Other-Food Drink by Assholemyhole (700 points)
Can I freeze fresh cucumbers?

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answered May 14, 2022 by layla (58,590 points)
You can freeze fresh cucumbers although it's best to slice the cucumbers first and then freeze them as whole cucumbers can become soggy when frozen and thawed out.

Cucumbers go soft after picking because the water in the cucumber fruit evaporates once you pick it and remove it from the vine.

The best way to store cut cucumbers is to wrap them in a damp paper towel and place them in an airtight storage container.

The tight, locking seal on the cover of the container will help to keep them extra fresh.

Place the container in your refrigerator or in the crisper drawer and use the cut cukes within five days.

Cucumbers take between 2 to 3 weeks to grow after flowering.

After female cucumber flowers have been pollinated, they swell at their bases and begin to develop into fruits if fertilization is successful.

Cucumber fruits usually can be harvested 50 to 70 days after the seeds were sown, depending on the variety and weather conditions.

The growing stages of a cucumber plant are.

Seed sowing and seedling emergence.
Cucumber flowering and pollination.
Fruiting and harvest.
Cucumber post-harvest care.

When planting cucumbers the cucumbers need enough space to allow them at least 36 to 60 inches apart from each other.

Cucumbers need to be spaced at least 36 to 60 inches apart to allow them enough space to grow properly.

Since cucumbers are a vine crop, they usually require a lot of space.

In large gardens, cucumber vines may spread throughout rows; within smaller gardens, cucumbers may be trained for climbing on a fence or trellis.

Training cucumbers on a fence or trellis will reduce space and lift the fruit off the soil.

One cucumber plant will produce up to 10 large cucumbers or 15 small cucumbers.

Generally, most varieties of cucumbers typically yield about 10 fruits (cucumbers) per plant.

However, that's an average.

They root in soil and then proceed to attach their tendrils to trellises and other supporting structures.

You can water cucumbers too much.

Watering cucumber plants too much can kill the cucumber plant and damage the cucumbers.

Cucumbers perform best with regular, deep watering once a week or so and with more frequency if the weather is very hot for a period of days.

Inadequate or inconsistent moisture can cause oddly shaped or poor-tasting fruit.

Cucumbers turn yellow when they are over ripe.

When you leave your cucumbers on the vine too long then the cucumbers get too ripe which then leads to them turning yellow.

Cucumber plants have a shallow root system that loves moisture but don't leave them with wet feet.

This causes them to turn yellow. For best results water deeply and slowly a couple of times a week.

More than this and you're robbing the soil of nutrients.

Cucumbers can be kept at room temperature for around 2 to 3 days before they start going bad.

So it's best to refrigerate the cucumbers so they last longer.

Refrigerated cucumbers are most often good for up to 2 weeks.

Cucumbers should be kept refrigerated to keep them fresh even when uncut.

When sliced cucumbers should always be kept refrigerated or they will go bad.

You can cut cucumbers ahead of time but to keep them fresh you must put the cut or sliced cucumbers in a sealed container with some water and then refrigerate them.

To store cut or sliced cucumbers.

Place cucumber slices in a container with a lid.
Fill the container with water and store in the refrigerator.

You can keep cucumbers in vinegar for up to 3 days before they lose their crispiness and become limp.

Cucumber salad though is most often good for up to 2 weeks.

Because this is vinegar based and essentially pickles, this cucumber salad can last in the fridge for up to two weeks.

To get rid of the bitterness of a cucumber you can do so using 2 different methods.

The 2 ways of getting the bitterness out of a cucumber include.

1. Rubbing the Ends

This is one of the most popular and commonly used methods to remove the bitterness of cucumber.

All you need to do is thinly cut off the last part of the stem or blossom end of the cucumber and with that piece rub the end of the cucumber in a circular motion.

While you do this, a white foam-like substance will emerge from the inside of the cucumber.

This is the cucuritacin, which causes bitterness in it.

Repeat the process on the other end by cutting the edge of the stem.

Once you are done, wash the cucumber with water. You can definitely feel the difference.

2. Salt Sprinkling Method

The salting technique is not very popular; however, it is believed that it works wonders.

Cut the cucumber into two halves lengthwise.

Sprinkle some salt on both the halves from where they were cut open and rub them against each other.

You will see the white foamy substance appearing on both the halves.

Repeat the procedure two-three times before washing it off with water.

The only real way to tell if a cucumber is bitter is to slice the cucumber and taste it.

Cucumbers most often become bitter when grown too long or because of heat stress but the bitter cucumbers are safe to eat.

You can still eat a bitter cucumber as there's nothing harmful about a bitter cucumber.

Bitter cucumbers are safe to eat.

The actual cause of bitterness in cucumbers and other gourds, like zucchini, is due to a compound known as cucurbitacin.

This compound is always present in cucumbers, but the levels change based on the growing process of the vegetables.

The higher the level of cucurbitacin, the more bitter the cucumber.

Nothing is harmful about eating bitter cucumbers although you may not enjoy them.

Cucumbers that have become bitter are still safe to eat although it might not be as tasty as non bitter cucumbers.

You can sometimes get rid of the bitterness in the cucumbers by thinly slicing off both ends of the cucumbers and rubbing once piece against the bitter cucumber.

I do this sometimes when I have bitter cucumbers and it does get rid of the bitterness in cucumbers.

You can safely eat the cucumbers though even when bitter but I recommend doing the above to get rid of the bitterness for a better tasting cucumber.

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