The season of cucumbers has begun. Delicious homemade cucumbers will not leave anyone indifferent. But sometimes cucumbers are very bitter. I propose to understand why this happens, and how to get rid of the bitterness.<\/p>\n
\nCucumbers owe their bitterness to a substance called cucurbitacin. Normally, it is produced mainly in leaves, stems and roots – only a small amount of it is found in fruits. The surplus is produced in stressful situations for cucumbers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Stressful situations:<\/p>\n
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- watering with cold water;<\/li>\n
- temperature drops;<\/li>\n
- abundance of the sun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Watch the video.<\/p>\n
Ways to eliminate bitterness:<\/p>\n
Cut off the ends of the vegetable, stepping back at least 3 cm from the edge – they contain the largest amount of cucurbitacin. Then, using a sharp knife, peel off a thin layer of the skin. Rinse the cucumber and the knife well in running (always cold!) Water. Remove any leftover rind until white, moving down from the top of the vegetable. Rinse the knife again, cut the cucumber in half and remove the seeds. Use the pulp for food.<\/p>\n
2 Soaking.<\/p>\n
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- Soak vegetables in sweet water with mint leaves, oregano (oregano), horseradish, or dill for a few hours. Sugar and herbs will mask the bitterness, making the cucumber taste more palatable.<\/li>\n
- Another surefire way to “kick” the bitterness out of cucumbers before rolling is to soak them in salt water. For this procedure, it is not necessary to wait 12 hours, only 40 minutes is enough. Place vegetables in a bowl, cover with cold water and add a little salt (1 tablespoon for 2 liters of water). During the “salt bath”, the cucumbers will give juice, along with which the bitterness will leave the fruit. These vegetables cannot be used to make fresh salad. They are suitable for pickling or pickling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3 Cooling.<\/p>\n
Try peeling cucumbers and soaking them in water or milk with ice for 5-10 minutes – the taste of the vegetable will improve significantly.<\/p>\n
4 Piercing.<\/p>\n
To get some of the cucurbitacin to the surface, pierce the peeled cucumbers with a fork. Make as many holes as possible on both sides of the vegetable so that juice begins to come out of it. Then rinse the cucumber in clean water. Its taste should be much better.<\/p>\n
In restaurants, in order to rid the fruit of bitterness, the cut is intensively rubbed with its cut back. First, the foam is released, then it becomes less and less and the bitterness goes away.<\/p>\n
Don't rush to throw away bitter cucumbers! Take advantage of our tips!<\/p>\n
For those who do not like to read, we offer a video:<\/p>\n