Bitter Cukes For Pickles?

Hello
I have harvested my first few cucumbers off of my Chicago Pickling plant. While I had already did a fairly large batch of pickles I grabbed from my mom (of which I tried a cuke and they were delicious), I was ready to give a go at another batch. I took a bite at one of the cucumbers from my garden (Chicago Pickling) and BLAH! Bitter, bitter, bitter! I did not peel the skin, and after reading up on the variety it seems as though that could be the cause. I obviously do not like peeling my cukes prior to pickling or at all for pickling...WOULD THE PICKLES STILL TURN OUT USING THESE CUCUMBERS? I was hoping perhaps I picked them a little small, but at about 3 inches I'd assume that would not be the case.
These "bitter" cucumbers I speak of - came from a container plant. I have 2 more of them in containers and a wack load in my raised bed. I'm hoping with all I have that at least some of them give me a good crop and lack that bitter taste in the fruit :(

No history with pickling cukes (although, I've been trying to get there), but, my suggestion would be to pickle sandwich slices. There'd be less of the bitter skin, and you'd still have acceptable pickles.

Wouldn't have to lose your entire crop...

I do have a history on pickling all kind of vegetables, especially cucumbers.
The problem you are having is not on the skin, in fact most of my pickled cucumbers have skin.
The problem is on the quality of your cucumbers.
Did you try before pickling?
If you did harvested your cucumbers too ripe and too late, then they are bitter.
You need to harvest them young for better food quality.
Maybe next time if you know your cucumbers are bitter, you shall add some sugar to your pickling brine.
Happy gardening

Good info, drthor!

I'm notorious for picking the veggies a bit too late, and, I've not grown cukes before, except this season with my 7-yr old niece. Since they were growing at her home and not mine, I couldn't keep my eye on the them like I would have liked to, and they weren't diligent about keeping them watered. They got a couple, and were excited.

But, I'm going for a harvest of my own to make pickles, so I'll certainly take your advice to not wait too late when I pick them -- and to taste them first!

Thanks!

another reason that i love lemon cukes, not bitter even if picked just a bit later (although the skin will get tougher, i find, lol) but taste otherwise unaffected as far as i can tell with the lemon cukes.

I can't imagine if the cukes are only 3" long that they are too old. I wouldn't pickle cukes that are bitter that's a lot of work to get bitter pickles. From what you discribe I can't understand why your cukes would be bitter,

Thanks for your input all, very much appreciated. I let a few more of this variety get a bit larger and they weren't bitter - at all. I'm hoping maybe I was a bit premature with the picking prior. Still to my dismay - my cuke plants seem to be very slow growing compared to my mothers. I purchased a soil from a local supplier and it was the highest quality, I myself thought the soil looked terrible ( I have a friend who is a hortoculturigist and he said it was great soil) I am finding that after rainfall and water the soil became very compact...I see some amending in my near future. If I want it to be more "fluffy" what might one add to the soil? I believe that just maybe the roots are struggling with the soil not being loose enough. I'm no professional, but I sure spend any time I can everyday in my garden so with my tomatoes doing great and cucumbers nowhere near where they should be it frustrates me.I truly believed it was the cool nights, but my mother lives 15 minutes away and has no issues. Maybe, perhaps, it's just the variety I ordered online (not happy with this climate)

picture below of my tomatoes which are very happy..I will take a picture of my cucumbers later and compare growth from 1 month ago for you (you can judge if its normal growth)

I, for one, can say that 15 mins. can make a big difference. Temps. can make a huge difference too. Every year is different. It is strange that the taste got better as the cukes got bigger...

I always grow at least one variety of pickle sized cucumbers, because I like to eat them fresh/sliced. I like that they are especially crisp and have small seeds. I have never had a problem with them being bitter, and I always eat them peel and all. This year I grew several varieties including: Sumter & Pickle Bush. None of mine were bitter at all.

Size is not the issue. Several of my Sumter cukes hid behind leaves and got quite large before I found them. I ate them anyhow, no bitterness.

I did a quick google search for what causes bitter cucumbers and found this very helpful page: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/cucumber/what-causes-bitter-cucumber.htm
The link did a good job of explaining things, so I highly recommend reading it - especially since it indicates the chemical which causes bitterness may make you sick in large quantities.

Here is a quick list of the reasons sited:
Heat stress
Temperature fluctuations
Uneven watering
Heredity (e.g. some varieties are more inclined to bitterness)

It has been very, very hot and humid here. Although we are enjoying somewhat cooler temps right now, it has been 93-98F for most of the past 2months. I can't imagine that it's hotter than that in Canada, so I doubt heat is your problem. Once the temps here got up to the mid 90's and above, I noticed a slight toughening of the skin on my cukes but no bitterness in any of them.

Unless you have had good results with that same variety in the past, I suspect it may be the variety. If you haven't done so already, I would strongly suggest you do some research to determine which varieties have been determined best for your area. In the US, each state has an agricultural extension service, usually a university, which does research, publishes results, and answers questions for home gardeners. Ours always publishes lists of recommended vegetable varieties for each part of the state. Pickling cucumber Sumter which always does well for me is one of the varieties they suggest for my area. If Canada has a similar service, it would be very helpful to find out which cucumber varieties do best in your area.

I'd heard irregular, or not enough water, equals bitter cukes. Good luck with next year's batch.

It's unfortunate to hear about the bitterness in your cucumbers. Bitterness in cucumbers can be attributed to various factors, including the specific variety, growing conditions, and sometimes the age of the cucumber. While peeling might reduce bitterness, it's not a guaranteed solution.

For pickling, some people find that the bitterness is less noticeable, especially when combined with the flavors of the pickling brine and spices. You can still try pickling these cucumbers and see if the end result meets your taste preferences. Sometimes, the pickling process can transform the flavor.

If you have other cucumber plants, especially those in your raised bed, you might find that they produce less bitter cucumbers. Experimenting with different varieties and growing conditions could help you find cucumbers better suited for pickling without the bitter taste








This message was edited Jan 23, 2024 12:37 AM