On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:08:53 +0000, David Rance
wrote:


It's a long time since I tried growing cucumbers but, when I did, I
didn't have much success. They were bitter! So what do I know?! :-|

David

I always determine ripeness by bending the thing a little. If it's
very firm, I deem it unripe; if it will bend with a little resistance,
it's ripe. If it's floppy, old age has hit home ;(

Bitterness is, I think, down to the temperature during growing more
than anything else (assuming that the variety isn't one known to be
more bitter than others). The chemical that causes the bitter taste is
most concentrated in the skin and the thin layer below it that's a bit
darker then the rest of the flesh so peeling that away may make a
difference.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.

In article ,
David Rance wrote:

His exact words, after tasting it, were "not quite ripe", then "not
quite ready, it's a little bit bitter". I've always understood that
bitterness in cucumbers was to do with irregular watering and/or uneven
temperatures, not to do with whether it's unripe or not ready.

Or am I wrong? If a cucumber is bitter when it's not ready will it lose
that bitterness when it is ready?

No, but my limited experience is that most cucumbers are bitter
when gherkin-sized. Pickling reduces this, because salinity is
antagonistic to bitterness, just as sweetness is to sourness.

It's a long time since I tried growing cucumbers but, when I did, I
didn't have much success. They were bitter! So what do I know?! :-|

You and me, both :-( I did once get some that were partially
successful.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

wrote in message ...
In article ,
David Rance wrote:

His exact words, after tasting it, were "not quite ripe", then "not
quite ready, it's a little bit bitter". I've always understood that
bitterness in cucumbers was to do with irregular watering and/or uneven
temperatures, not to do with whether it's unripe or not ready.

Or am I wrong? If a cucumber is bitter when it's not ready will it lose
that bitterness when it is ready?

No, but my limited experience is that most cucumbers are bitter
when gherkin-sized. Pickling reduces this, because salinity is
antagonistic to bitterness, just as sweetness is to sourness.

It's a long time since I tried growing cucumbers but, when I did, I
didn't have much success. They were bitter! So what do I know?! :-|

You and me, both :-( I did once get some that were partially
successful.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I have found Cucumbers to be the opposite to Runner Beans. We like to pick
Runners when they are small and tasty, let them grow big and they can be
tough, however, Cucumbers are much better left to grow large.

Mike


--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

On 2013-02-15 10:08:53 +0000, David Rance said:

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
David Rance wrote:

But actualy Monty is right, we don't eat ripe cucumbers, we pick them
immature and eat them that way.
Just think about it for a minute.
Hard for some of you to admit it.
BUT HE IS RIGHT.

But that's not what he said. He said that because it was bitter it was
unripe and followed it up by saying that he then felt guilty about
cutting into something that wasn't ready and that it was now wasted (or
words to that effect).

A better term than "unripe" would have been "not ready".

His exact words, after tasting it, were "not quite ripe", then "not
quite ready, it's a little bit bitter". I've always understood that
bitterness in cucumbers was to do with irregular watering and/or uneven
temperatures, not to do with whether it's unripe or not ready.

Or am I wrong? If a cucumber is bitter when it's not ready will it lose
that bitterness when it is ready?

It's a long time since I tried growing cucumbers but, when I did, I
didn't have much success. They were bitter! So what do I know?! :-|

David

We've picked ours when still very small and the flavour is superb.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article ,
says...

Of course, anyone can exercise their prerogative but if programmes are
made FOR gardening people BY gardening presenters,

They aren't. Presenters, do not make TV programs. They are employed
to be filmed, doing what the director and producer told them to do, and
speaking a script provided by a scriptwriter. Then the pictures and
sound track of the presenter are edited, by an editor guided by the
producer and director. Not the presenter.

What you see broadcast, is an edited version which often bears very
little resemblance to the sequence of actions directed to and performed
by the presenter, OR, or what the presenter was saying at the time he
was performing those actions.

A famous example of production falsification via the editing suite,
involved the BBC, production company RDF, and the Queen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007...hics.independe
ntproductioncompanies

Janet