Cucumber Grades and Standards | Agricultural Marketing Service (2024)

FAQs

What are the different grades of cucumbers? ›

Slicing cucumbers are graded on size, shape, color, and several quality and condition characteristics. Fancy, U.S. No. 1, and U.S. No. 2 are the three primary grades of slicing cucumbers designated by the USDA.

U.S. No. 1 means good quality and is the chief grade for most fruits and vegetables. U.S. Fancy means premium quality–only a few fruits and vegetables are packed in this grade. The grades are based on the product's color, shape, maturity, and freedom from defects.

Substandard grade may contain an unlimited amount of these less desirable characteristics, but is still edible food. For fresh commodities the terminology or number grade “Extra Fancy, Fancy or No. 1” is the highest quality level depending on the commodity.

Cucumber breeders have been busy, in the last few decades, trying to limit bitter taste, increase yields, and breed more disease resistance into their plants. There are now three cucumber varieties commonly available; Monoecious, Gynoecious, and Parthenocarpic.

Receiving Information: Good quality cucumbers should be firm, well-shaped, and have an even dark green color and uniform size. Cucumbers may be treated with an edible wax to prevent moisture loss and enhance appearance. Avoid cucumbers that are shriveled, yellow in color, or have soft spots.

The best cucumbers for slicing are ones with a sweeter texture, smaller seeds, and thinner skin. This means that English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers or Armenian cucumbers. Slicing cucumbers have been bred to have better-eating quality.

How to Choose Cucumbers. Look for firm cucumbers, without blemishes or soft spots, which can indicate they have started to rot. They should be dark green without any yellow spots, which develop as the cucumber is getting overly ripe. At that point, it will often produce off-flavors and odors.

In the United States, academic grading commonly takes on the form of five, six or seven letter grades. Traditionally, the grades are A+, A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, D+, D, D− and F, with A+ being the highest and F being lowest. In some cases, grades can also be numerical.

At most schools, colleges and universities in the United States, letter grades follow a five-point system, using the letters A, B, C, D and E/F, with A indicating excellent, C indicating average and F indicating failing.

What does C stand for in grades? ›

A grade of “C” indicates satisfactory progress, achievement at an average level, and meeting grade level expectations. It is valued at 2.00 points in the Grade Point Average.

Figs. Figs are soft, sweet fruits, full of small seeds, and they're a great source of fibre. The skin is very thin – ripe figs do not keep or travel very well, so they are often eaten dried. Fresh figs are delicious as a snack, especially with Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.

A Grade A unit is generally considered 'very good' or 'like new'. Please note that this does not mean that a machine will come with OEM packaging. A Grade A cosmetic condition indicates that there may be very few and faint scratches or scuffs, if any.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) Specialty Crops Inspection Division (SCID) inspects fruits, vegetables, and other crops and products for compliance with safety and quality standards.

The best-tasting cucumbers are those that are slicing cucumbers. English cucumbers don't have the bitter chemical cucurbitacin that some cucumbers have. They also have higher natural sugar content, making them sweeter. ​The lack of seeds and thinner skin also English cucumbers more enjoyable to eat.

Many cultivars are listed as bitter-free, including Burpless, Carmen, County Fair, Diva, Fanfare, Garden Sweet, Marketmore 76, Slice More, Sweet Slice, Sweet Success, Sweeter Yet, and Tasty Green.

Armenian cucumbers are long, thin, and slightly variegated in darker and lighter shades of light green or a yellowish-green. They are delightfully crunchy and are delicious when simply sliced and eaten raw. These cucumbers have very soft seeds and thin skin. They do not require seeding or peeling for eating.

Super Select generally refers to fruit that are mostly straight with minimal curvature, good color uniformity, and with no defects or constrictions. Select fruit may have some curve or tapering and some color irregularity or other defects, but the fruit are still marketable.