B's Cucumber Pages

Review by Debbie Mazo

With warm weather around the corner, a summer salad is a smart selection for any meal. When it comes to summer heat, nothing is better for cooling off than crunching on a cucumber. From soups to salads, B's Cucumber Pages has it all when it comes to this favorite summer vegetable.

Believed to be a native of India and cultivated in western Asia for 3,000 years, A Brief History of Cucumbers traces the origins of the cucumber from its early beginnings to its modern evolution from European varieties. Although a favorite of European traders, the cucumber took a bad rap along with other vegetables for potentially causing a whole variety of summer diseases in the later 1600's. Eventually, the cucumber shed its bad reputation and much interest was shown in breeding this vegetable in the 1880's.

 
Members of the gourd family, there are basically two types of cucumbers (pickling and slicing varieties). Pickling varieties, such as the gherkin, the American dill, and the cornichon (small French pickle) are relatively small. Slicing cucumbers may be either outdoor varieties with seeds or greenhouse varieties, such as the long, thin-skinned English cucumber. You'll find out more about the availability, storage, and selection of cucumbers when you browse through About Eating Cucumbers.

If you've only thought of cucumbers as a salad ingredient, the site's recipe collection is sure to expand your cucumber horizons. The growing archive offers instructions on everything from dressings to sandwiches to cocktails. For example, dress up your salad with a Dilled Cucumber Dressing featuring ingredients such as mayonnaise, dill, garlic, chives, and pepper. Or, serve Cucumber Canapes with Shrimp and Caviar as an accompaniment to your afternoon tea.

If you're a pickle fan, there's also some helpful pickling tips and a tangy selection of pickle recipes ranging from Deli-Style Half Dills to French Pickled Cornichons. What ever way you slice it, B's Cucumber Pages definitely gives new meaning to the phrase "cool as a cucumber".

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