Cucumbers are good for everyone: they are delicious, low-calorie, rich in vitamins and especially trace elements, among which are important for the life of the body, such as potassium, iodine, zinc, iron, copper. But is there any benefit from the bitter cucumber?
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Cucumbers are almost 95% water, so they are great for diet food. They are tasty both on their own and in salads, and prepared for the future - salted, pickled. But sometimes bitter specimens come across among cucumbers. What to do with them?
What caused cucumber bitterness
An unpleasant bitter taste of cucumber is given by the substance cucurbitacin, which this vegetable produces under certain conditions. This mainly depends on temperature, humidity and the degree of illumination. Cucumber is very "not fond" of sudden changes in temperature, cool weather, lack of water and prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. For him, such conditions are stress, and he begins to produce cucurbitacin as a kind of protection.
The homeland of the cucumber is the hot Indian jungle, where it grows in the shadow of tall plants. In the conditions of the middle zone of Russia, frequent cooling (up to return frosts) is a common occurrence.
The bitter substance accumulates mainly in the peel of the cucumber. Especially a lot of it near the stalk, so when preparing a salad of cucumbers, it is necessary to cut it off.