How To Remove All The Bitterness From Cucumbers

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Why cucumbers get bitter and how to fix it

For crispy cucumbers without bitterness, choose the right variety in advance and do not forget to create favorable conditions for growing vegetables. If the crop has already grown and you find bitterness, use a few tricks to eliminate it.

How to avoid bitterness in advance

Cucumbers grown in inappropriate conditions - for example, with sudden changes in temperature or lack of moisture - will experience stress. As a result, a substance called cucurbitacin will begin to be produced in the vegetables, which makes them bitter.

In a situation where it is not possible to provide suitable growing conditions for cucumbers, choose hybrid varieties that are genetically free from bitter aftertaste. You can understand that this is a hybrid by the special designation "F1" on the seed package.

These varieties cost a little more than the usual ones, but their taste is worth the money spent.

How to provide an enabling environment

If you don't want to rely solely on the choice of hybrid variety, try to create conditions in which the cucumbers will grow comfortably. Start by choosing a suitable site: cucumbers are light-loving vegetables, so they need beds that are illuminated by the sun for at least 10-12 hours a day.

Cucumbers also need a high level of air humidity (75–90%) and soil, which should not dry out. A greenhouse or greenhouse is considered an ideal place for this culture.

There the plants will be protected from sudden changes in temperature and other negative environmental factors. The main thing is not to thicken the planting so that all the bushes receive a sufficient amount of sunlight. It is also necessary to regularly use balanced fertilizer mixtures, while not forgetting that an excess of nutrients is no less harmful than their lack.

But you can cope without a greenhouse - for plant growth and good fruiting, you must observe the correct watering regime:

• before flowering, watering is carried out every day (4–5 liters of water are required per 1 square meter);
• after the appearance of the ovaries and during the fruiting period, watering is carried out every 2-3 days (for 1 sq. m. 8-12 liters of water are required);
• from mid-August until the end of the season, cucumbers need to be watered once every 1-2 weeks, consuming 3-4 liters of water per 1 square meter. m, while you need to use only warm water (+ 25-28 ° C).

To avoid decay of the roots, in cloudy and cold weather, watering is reduced by 1.5–2 times.

What to do if the crop is already bitter

If the vegetables have already grown and you find a bitter taste in them, there are several ways to solve this problem:

1. The easiest way is to cut off the ends of the fruit and peel them, because this is where most of the cucurbitacin is contained, which makes the taste bitter.
2. If the flesh tastes bitter too, try sprinkling the sliced cucumber with salt.
3. A more radical way is to soak vegetables in cold, slightly salted water for 2-3 hours.
4. In extreme cases, the harvest of vegetables can be preserved for the winter.

For delicious, bitter-free cucumbers, plant hybrid varieties and try to follow all growing guidelines. And if the vegetables are still bitter, try soaking and preserving.