Cucumber is probably one of the Poles’ favourite vegetables – in 2014, the average annual consumption of this vegetable was 6.24 kg/person. We eat it in the form of pickles, sour pickles, cucumber salads, or as an ingredient in salads. Most people who have ever prepared dishes with the addition of green cucumber probably know that it should be peeled from the light end – the one furthest from the stem. Otherwise, the cucumber will have a bitter aftertaste. But why is this happening? Dietetyk Wrocław explains!
The substance that gives cucumbers bitterness is cucurbitacin, found in plants from the cucurbitaceae family. From a chemical point of view, cucurbitacin is classified as a tricyclic triterpenoid. This substance plays a protective role in plants against pests and herbivores. In the case of cucumbers, the largest amount of cucurbitin is located in the leaves, stem and dark end of the vegetable (which is also closest to the stem). That is why when we peel the cucumber from its darker side, we spread the bitter substance over its entire surface, thus leading to the characteristic bitter aftertaste of the vegetable. So let’s peel the cucumber from its light side and enjoy its unbitter taste.
A bit about the properties of cucurbitacin:
- paralyzes the nervous system of parasites, thus accelerating their removal from the digestive tract;
- acts choleretic, increases the secretion of digestive juices;
- exhibits anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal effects.
Based on:
Polish cucumber production – PPR
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