As a grower for farmers markets in our area and a gardner for many decades, we can help.

Bitter

Cucumbers are slightly bitter by nature. Usually it’s below the threshold for most people’s perception but for those highly sensitive to bitter it may be more detectable. In addition, there are two other factors in producing bitter cucumbers.

1. Varieties
2. Stress

Cause and Solutions

Cucumbers contain organic compounds called cucurbitacins (cucurbitacin B and cucurbitacin C) that cause bitterness. It’s a survival adaptation and, usually, concentrated in the leaves and stems to ward off insects and other browsers.

Sometimes, however, cucurbitacins migrate into the fruit from the stems. Most often it affects the ends of the cucumber (stem end and blossom end) and skin.

• Wash cucumbers thoroughly.
• Test the ends and, if bitter, remove them.
• Test the skin and, if bitter, peel the cucumber.
• Rinse your peeler or knife between slices so as to not spread the bitterness.

People needlessly throw out cucumbers quite often because they take a slice from a bitter end, then continue slicing (perhaps in the middle) without realizing their knife is spreading the bitterness as they cut. Then, they assume the entire cucumber is bitter when it’s, usually, just the ends.

Cut a sample from the end of the cucumber to test. Then rinse your knife before cutting again. This will save a lot of grief.

Varieties to look for

Some varieties are more prone to cucurbitacin production and bitterness than others. Armenian, Diva, Jazzer, Holland, Lemon, Aria, Eversweet, Improved Long Green, and Marketmore 97 are the least prone to bitterness.

• Look these varieties up online and learn to recognize them to make grocery store or farmers market selection easier.

Stress

Cucumbers tend to become more bitter during periods of stress. Lack of moisture, lack of sunlight, too much heat, and lack of proper soil nutrition are factors. It’s hard to tell at the grocery store but look for:

• Fruit that is nicely green (not white), plump, firm, and healthy looking.

If your source is local and the growing season has been especially hot or dry, odds are the cucumbers will be bitter.

Conclusion

So, that’s the story. It should help make buying and prep decisions easier and cut down on the bitter stuff.