Most of us eat cucumbers in one form or another, and in general, you see, it is difficult to imagine a fresh salad without this vegetable. In addition, cucumber is actively used in folk medicine, and its ability to rejuvenate the skin and nourish it with useful substances is known to everyone. Some cosmetic preparations are made from cucumbers, but their main purpose, of course, is to be eaten. They are widely used in the cuisine of various countries, even very distant and exotic.
Interesting facts about cucumbers
- Botanists have established that cucumbers and melons once descended from a common ancestor.
- In the Latin American country of Ecuador, a special variety of cucumbers is grown, which grows to the size of a zucchini. But Ecuadorian zucchini, on the contrary, are similar in size to ordinary cucumbers (interesting facts about zucchini).
- Young cucumber fruits are often covered with thorns, which serve to remove excess moisture. In the early morning, a drop of dew appears at the end of each thorn.
- Cucumbers are about 95-97% water.
- On remote Pacific islands, cucumbers are treated like a real delicacy. Aboriginal cucumbers are wrapped in banana leaves and buried in the ground, thus making reserves in case of a storm or crop failure.
- In the wild, cucumbers are found, with rare exceptions, only where they came from at all – at the foot of the Himalayas (interesting facts about the Himalayas).
- The famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra claimed that she owed her beauty to cucumbers. She ate them almost every day.
- Christopher Columbus in his travels included fresh and pickled cucumbers in the diet of sailors to protect them from scurvy. There are more vitamins in fresh ones, but salty ones are stored longer, which is especially important in long-distance navigation.
- The ancient Egyptians placed cucumbers in the graves of their pharaohs along with other valuable gifts.
- Cucumber mask is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get rid of puffiness and improve complexion.
- For the first time the cucumber appeared in culture more than 6 thousand years ago.
- Mankind has been eating cucumbers since the time of the Mesopotamian civilization – four and a half thousand years. And for the first time, cucumbers were grown as a crop in ancient India (interesting facts about India).
- The ancient Romans, thousands of years ago, grew cucumbers all year round in their greenhouses, and salted them in barrels for the winter. It was they who built the world’s first cucumber greenhouses.
- The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was also a great lover of cucumbers. He even promised a solid reward to anyone who would invent a way to store these vegetables on long military campaigns.
- In the Bible, the cucumber is referred to as the “vegetable of Egypt.”
- One kilogram of fresh cucumbers contains only about 150 calories.
- Arab breeders from the UAE have developed a square variety of cucumbers. They are simpler and easier to transport over long distances. By the way, square watermelons in Japan were bred for the same purpose (interesting facts about the UAE).
- The Greeks depicted cucumbers on the frescoes of the oldest sanctuaries; as a medicinal food, these vegetables were recommended by Theophrastus and Dioscorides.
- July 27 is International Cucumber Day.
- One plant can grow from 25 to 125 cucumbers, give or take.
- If the cucumbers do not receive enough moisture, the fruits after ripening may turn out to be bitter.