I am growing cucumbers for the first time this year and decided to grow the telegraph greenhouse variety. Books tell me that I should remove all male flowers from the plants otherwise the fruits will be bitter. Please can someone tell me how I can distinguish between female and male flowers? I believe I am right in saying that telegraph cucumbers should be long, straight and smooth skinned, however the fruits that have developed on my plants are far from that. They have spikes on them and curl like a banana. Will the spikes disappear and smooth out?

Thanks
Paul