Cucumber question :)

ctmom05

Member
Besides size and skin texture, what is the difference between pickling cucumbers and the regular green kind that you would generally put into a salad?
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
Really not much. I used to make lots of pickles and you can just use regular cukes. You can plant gherkins for the little sweet pickles but if you pick the regular ones when they are small, you get basically the same thing. The only caveat is that if you plant the "burpless" kind they have less acid and don't pickle as well. I always grew straight eight. They are great for both pickling and eating, although they don't get long and stay skinny like the burpless kind.
If you grow your own, just pick them small. However, if you have to buy them, you have to be careful of what you buy (don't get burpless or English cukes) and you may have trouble buying the others the size you need as they let them get lots bigger for salad cucumbers.
 
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Star*

call 911........call 911
One says "Oh no! Don't you put me into no jar 'hick-up' I need another belt of whiskey!" (the pickled kind) and the other says "Yeah lady- just slice me up and use me in a salad." (the straight kind) :laugh:
 

graceupongrace

New Member
I really like the Persian cucumbers for salads -- they're nice & crisp, and you don't need to peel & seed them. I haven't the faintest idea if you can use them for pickling, though.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
I have used both and I like the pickling cucumbers better because they are smaller and fit easier into the jars I use.

Also, I think they are crispier than the larger cucumbers, though I do use granulated alum to keep them crunchy.
 
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