bitter cucumbers , why?

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kathy_ann Judsonia, AR(Zone 7b) Jun 14, 2005

I wash them after I peel them they still taste bitter, I know the heat has somethingt o do with it, but how can I stop the bitterness, I'm growing the paresian kind

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TamaraFaye Fritch, TX(Zone 6b) Jun 14, 2005

beats me, I grow the varieties that claim to not be bitter. Can you pick them smaller, before the seeds form, sometimes it is the seeds inside that give the bitter taste. Smaller can be better!

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kathy_ann Judsonia, AR(Zone 7b) Jun 15, 2005

we do pick them small, to eat, but not really small.

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) Jun 15, 2005

I've heard trimming 1/2 inch off each end helps, but haven't tried it.

This site addresses the problem:
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0479/ANR-479_17.html

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Shelly221 Denver, CO(Zone 5b) Jun 15, 2005

I have heard bitterness comes from lack of water while the cuke is growing.

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paani Cowichan Valley, BC(Zone 8b) Jun 15, 2005

kathy_ann,
I've read the same thing as Shelly - if they're short of water at any point (especially after fruit formation -- but maybe before too?), they'll be bitter.

2 tricks for reducing bitterness in the ones you've already got:

take a fork and score the sides of the cuc by running it lengthwise down the cuc, and repeat until you've gone all the way around. Do it all in one (lengthwise) direction - that is, call one end the top, and do all the scoring from top to bottom. You'll end up with long vertical lines, however far apart the tines of your fork are, all the way around the cuc. Score deeply into the skin, but you don't need to break the skin. Rinse after scoring.

next, cut off an end -- not a big piece, just down to a bit before where the juicy + seeded interior starts. Cut off the tip in other words. Then put it right back in place, press down firmly and turn it back and forth -- as if you were opening and closing the lid of a jar.
You should see a bit of clear to white/whiteish (occasionally green) and possibly foamy liquid come up as you do this. When that stops, you stop too. And rinse it off.
Repeat at the other end.

I forget what the substance is that makes them bitter, but both these techniques help to drain it off. Won't make a really bitter cuc. super-sweet, but it really does help. Learned from my grandmother.

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Jun 15, 2005

I've found that it's lack of water and high temps that cause this. I agree that sometimes the whole cucumber isn't affected, only the ends. I just keep cutting off the end until I can't taste the bitterness anymore. If my tastebuds go numb, I have my son do the tasting.

After I get the first bitter cuke, I pour on the water and the newly forming ones don't taste bitter when picked. However, the ones already on the vine at the bitterness discovery point are bitter part way through.

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