By Anna Nelson – Cucumbers seem like the most boring vegetable in the produce aisle. Green, watery, kind of crunchy. But once you start paying attention, you notice they’re not all the same thing at all. Bite into a standard grocery store slicer and then bite into one of our English cucumbers, and you’ll wonder why you ever settled for the first one.
We carry English cucumbers from two of our favorite growers, Valley Flora Farm in Langlois and Lehne Farm LLC in Roseburg. Both grow them organically, and both grow them long. Nine to twelve inches, straight, slender. If you’ve picked one up and wondered why it’s shaped so differently from what you’d find at a regular grocery store, that’s the variety talking.
Why They’re Called “Burpless”
English cucumbers get a nickname that sounds a little funny: burpless. It’s not a marketing gimmick. Regular cucumbers have a compound in their skin and seeds that can give some people that bloated, gassy feeling after a cucumber salad. English cucumbers have much less of that compound, so most folks can eat them without any trouble. That’s also why you don’t need to peel them. The skin is thin, tender, and mild, nothing like the thick, waxy skin you’d want to strip off a standard slicer.
The reason comes down to how they’re grown. English cucumbers are usually raised in greenhouses, away from the insects that would normally pollinate them. No pollination means the plant doesn’t bother developing those hard, noticeable seeds. Less seed development also means less of that bitter compound built up inside. Sweet, slender, straight, with barely-there seeds. That’s the whole package, and it’s why you’ll also hear these called hothouse cucumbers, greenhouse cucumbers, or seedless cucumbers. All the same idea, just different names depending on who’s selling them.
How They’re Different From a Regular Cucumber
A standard grocery store cucumber, sometimes called a slicer, has thicker skin and a waxy coating added after harvest to help it survive a week or two on a truck and a shelf. That’s why you peel those before eating. English cucumbers skip all that. You can eat the whole thing, skin and all, which means more texture, more color in a salad, and less work at the cutting board.
There’s also a practical difference that matters once you’re actually cooking. English cucumbers hold their shape better in dishes that sit around for a while, since they’ve got less water and fewer seeds working against them. Think tzatziki, a cucumber salad you’re making ahead for a potluck, or sandwiches you’re packing for lunch tomorrow. A regular cucumber will weep water into your dish and turn everything soggy by the time you eat it. An English cucumber holds up. Bite into one fresh and you’ll notice the difference right away too. It’s crisp without being watery, and the flavor is clean and a little sweet, not that flat, almost grassy taste you get from a bin cucumber that’s been sitting around.
Other Cucumbers Worth Knowing
English cucumbers aren’t the only variety out there, and it’s worth knowing the differences so you can pick the right one depending on what you’re making. Persian cucumbers are like a smaller cousin to the English type. Same thin skin, same mild flavor, but compact, usually four to six inches, and great for snacking whole or slicing into a lunchbox.
Then there’s the Marketmore, a classic American slicing cucumber. Thicker skin, more visible seeds, and that traditional cucumber flavor a lot of people grew up with. Nothing wrong with a Marketmore. It’s a workhorse, good for a quick garden salad or layered onto a sandwich where you want that familiar snap.
Kirby cucumbers are the short, bumpy ones you usually see destined for pickling. They’ve got a firmer flesh and less water content, which helps them stay crunchy once they’re sitting in a jar of brine for weeks. If you’ve ever wondered why a deli pickle has that satisfying crunch instead of going soft, that’s the Kirby doing its job.
Knowing these differences actually changes how you cook. If you’re making a quick pickle you’ll eat within a day or two, a Marketmore’s slight bitterness and firmer texture works in its favor. If you’re doing a real canning project, Kirby is your best bet. And if you want something delicate, like a cold cucumber soup or a salad you need to hold up for hours, that’s where the English cucumber earns its keep.
A Few Ways to Use What’s in Season Right Now
Right now is the time to be using these. Here’s what I’ve been doing with mine this week.
Slice one into thin coins, toss with rice vinegar, a little sugar, and sesame oil, then let it sit in the fridge for twenty minutes. That’s a quick pickle that goes with almost anything off the grill, and because the cucumber holds its crunch, it’s still good the next day.
For something simple, cube half an English cucumber and toss with tomatoes, red onion, olive oil, and a good pinch of salt. Let it sit for ten minutes so the flavors mingle. The thin skin means you get color and texture without any bitterness working against the tomatoes.
If you’ve got Alexandre Dairy grass fed yogurt on hand, grate some cucumber into it with a little garlic, lemon, and dill for a quick tzatziki. Since these cucumbers don’t have the same water content as a regular slicer, your yogurt sauce stays thick instead of turning watery on you.
They’re also just good sliced thin on a sandwich, or eaten straight off the cutting board with a sprinkle of salt while you’re prepping the rest of dinner.
Keeping Them Fresh
English cucumbers are more delicate than they look, mostly because that thin skin that makes them so pleasant to eat also means less protection against drying out. Keep yours in the fridge, ideally wrapped loosely in a produce bag or a damp towel, and try to use it within a week. Don’t store it right next to apples or bananas either. Those fruits give off ethylene gas as they ripen, and it’ll make your cucumber turn soft and yellow faster than it should.
There’s something satisfying about a vegetable that doesn’t ask much of you and still delivers. No peeling, barely any seeds to deal with, just clean crunch and a mild, sweet flavor that plays well with whatever else is on your plate this week.
Anna Nelson is a writer and editor based in Smith River, CA. She writes about local food and seasonal shifts and is a proud OtterBee’s shopper and contributing author to the OtterBee’s Market blog.
