James Kenji Lopez-Alt
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How to Cut Cucumbers like a Badass
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 08:36:25 +0000 UTCAs a kid, one of my favorite snacks was cucumber sticks with a bit of salt for dipping. Now, with two kids who love cucumbers in nearly all their forms, they are the vegetables I buy, cut, and eat most often. Whether raw or marinated in salads, stuck into snack boxes, served alongside fried rice or Peking duck, smashed Sichuan-style, or even stir-fried, knowing how to buy, store, and cut them is an essential skill in the kitchen.
The video above will show you how I like to cut them. Read on below for tips on shopping and storage, as well as a recipe for marinated cucumbers that can live in your fridge, ready to go for chopped salads or for snacking.
Shopping and Storage
In the supermarket, you'll usually find three or four kinds of cucumber:
American or "garden" cucumbers: It's hard to describe any cucumber as intensely flavorful, but American cucumbers tend to have the most robust flavor and firmest texture with a bit of bitterness balancing the typical sweetness of cucumbers. Their thick skin is best removed before enjoying, or at the very least a good wash is needed to remove any waxy coating they have (which are applied to prevent moisture loss). The seeds tend to be watery, so I like to scoop them out.
English cucumbers: Often found in plastic wrap, these require no washing. The skin is thin and edible. They're less flavorful than American cucumbers because of their higher water content, but also have fewer seeds so are a breeze to prepare.
Kirby cucumbers: Think mini American cucumbers! They pack the most flavor but can be a bit tough. Pickling is the way to go with these.
Persian, Japanese, and other slender cucumbers: Resembling smaller English cucumbers, these cucumbers are typically sold for snacking or slicing into salads. They have thin skins and few seeds so can be eaten with minimal preparation. I've noticed cucumbers that have started coming in increasingly small sizes, down to little finger-sized snacking cukes.
Marinated Cucumbers for Salad
Note: I love marinating cucumbers in olive oil and vinegar and storing them in the fridge. The salt in the marinade will draw some of the liquid out of the cucumbers, intensifying their flavors and giving them a pleasantly meaty texture. This is how I marinated the cucumbers in my restaurant, Wursthall, for the chopped salad there (one of my favorite things on the menu). At home, I keep them on hand in my fridge, ready to be dispensed into salads whenever the occasion calls.
Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.
What I like about this recipe:
Marinating the cucumbers intensifies their flavor and gives them a meaty texture.
The marinated cucumbers can be stored in the fridge for several days, ready to improve every salad you eat.
YIELD:
Makes about 1 cup marinated cucumbers
ACTIVE TIME:
5 minutes
TOTAL TIME:
5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 American cucumber, about 12 ounces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Peel the cucumber, trim off the ends, and split it in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out and discard the seeds. Split each half lengthwise into to form quarters. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.
2. Combine cucumber pieces, olive oil, and vinegar in a small bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using, and up to 4 days.
Comments
Tom H
I’m making those marinated cucumbers ASAP!
Bob Byrd
am I missing the recipe for the accordion cuke?
Marc Heinzman
I really like these knife skills videos. One about cutting tomatoes (several different varieties) would be really helpful. I feel like I never know how to dice a tomato properly
SF
Loved this video! Would love to see more knife skill videos. I struggle with carrots!
