L.V. ANDERSON Slate
The cucumber's greatest strength is also its Achilles' heel. The cucumber, as you might have noticed, is watery — really watery. On the plus side, this makes it refreshing and cooling, the perfect co*cktail garnish or crudité for a late-summer happy hour on the patio. The downside is that chopped or sliced cucumbers are the culinary equivalent of perilously taut water balloons, threatening to make everything in their vicinity soggy and miserable.
Don't let their delicate flavor and translucent flesh fool you: Cucumbers require a firm hand if you're planning to combine them with any other ingredients. First, unless you can find seedless cucumbers, you must eviscerate them. Cucumber seeds, slimy, springy and evasive, will ruin the texture of any salad, soup or dip.
Then, you must salt them to draw out as much liquid as possible. If you skip this step, a puddle of near-flavorless liquid will form quickly at the bottom of your salad bowl; your dip or soup will separate like curdled mayonnaise. Not a pleasant dining experience. Happily, salting cucumbers requires only 20 minutes or so and virtually no effort: You just put them in a colander or strainer, toss them with a big pinch of salt or two — the exact quantity doesn't matter, since most of the salt will flow away with the liquid — and let osmosis do its thing.
Once properly chastened in this way and then patted dry, cucumbers will behave themselves for hours. The best thing to do with them at this point is to combine them with something creamy and tart to liven up their tranquil blandness. Tzatziki, the Greek condiment combining cucumbers and yogurt with lemon juice, garlic and dill, is the ideal invigorating summer cucumber dish. It also serves quite nicely as a dip, salad or side dish, or as part of a mezze-inspired meal.
Apart from salting your cucumbers, you must pay attention to a couple of details to make your tzatziki as thick and flavorful as possible: Use whole-milk Greek yogurt, and if any thin liquid has separated from the yogurt, pour it off before using it. If you are unable to find Greek yogurt — which seems awfully unlikely, since Greek-inspired labels seem to have taken over every dairy case in the land much the way HAIM has taken over every single music blog, but just in case — buy regular plain yogurt and strain it in a few layers of cheesecloth to thicken it up.
TZATZIKI
1 pound cucumbers, peeled ifdesired, seeded and roughlychopped
Salt
2 cups whole-milk Greekyogurt
Juice of 3 lemons
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
Black pepper
Put the chopped cucumbersin a large colander and tosswith a large pinch of salt. Putthe colander in the sink andlet the cucumbers sit for 20minutes, then gently pat drywith a paper towel.
Put the cucumbers, yogurt,lemon juice, dill, olive oil andgarlic in a large bowl; seasonwith salt and pepper. Stir tocombine, then taste and adjustthe seasoning. Serve immediately,or cover and refrigeratefor a few hours before serving.
Time: 30 to 40 minutes, partiallyunattended
Servings: 4 to 6
FAQs
Place a clean, dry paper towel at the bottom of the container. This will suck up any excess moisture and help prevent the cucumbers from becoming soggy. Arrange Slices Evenly. Place the cucumber slices in a single layer on top of the paper towel.
How to stop cucumbers from going soggy? ›
Dry the cucumbers thoroughly, as excess water on the surface can encourage spoilage. Once your cucumber is clean and dry, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. This will help to keep condensation and humidity at bay, preventing sogginess, mold, and overall deterioration.
How do you keep cucumber salad from getting soggy? ›
First, unless you can find seedless cucumbers, you must eviscerate them. Cucumber seeds, slimy, springy and evasive, will ruin the texture of any salad, soup or dip. Then, you must salt them to draw out as much liquid as possible.
How to stop cucumber from making bread soggy? ›
The key to the perfect cucumber sandwich recipe is to allow time for salting the cucumber slices, to avoid soggy bread and bring out the flavour of the cucumber.
How do you draw moisture out of cucumbers? ›
When you salt cucumber pieces or slices and let them sit for 30 minutes in a colander, the salt draws out excess moisture which then drains away. This means that the cucumber will release less water into whatever dish you're adding it to, such as tzatziki, tabbouleh, Greek salad, or potato salad.
Should you soak cucumbers in salt water? ›
Recipe FAQs
Adding salt to sliced cucumbers draws out the extra moisture in the vegetable, through a process called osmosis. Over time, the salt absorbs the water from the cucumber. What you're left with is a slightly drier cucumber with a more concentrated flavor (that won't make your salad watery).
How to make soggy cucumbers crisp? ›
I put the sliced cucumbers into a bowl filled with heavily salted ice water and let it stand for about 1/2 hour. Then I rinse the slices in a colander with cold water, making sure all the salt is rinsed off. Then I pat all the slices dry with paper towels (plain white ones).
How to keep cucumbers crisp in a salad? ›
Just place the slices or chunks in a colander over a bowl or sink. Sprinkle them with a couple of pinches of salt, toss to coat, and let them rest for about 30 minutes. Pat them dry with a paper towel and proceed with the recipe.
Can I prepare cucumbers in advance? ›
Store sliced cucumbers in an airtight container, covered in water. The water will prevent the cut cucumbers from drying, shrinking or softening. Be sure to change the water every 2 to 3 days, to maintain freshness. We love this technique when preparing ahead of time for a big batch of Cucumber Salad.
Why do cucumbers get mushy? ›
You'll be able to feel cucumber spoilage before you see it; if cucumber sits for too long, it loses its characteristic crispness and becomes soft to the touch. "Both moisture and moisture build-up can contribute to cucumber spoilage," says Roszkowski.
One of the ways to revive limp cucumbers before pickling is to plunk them in a bowl of ice water for 15 to 20 mins. I use the same method for harvested cucumbers to make them extra crunchy and fresh tasting for salad. You can pat dry these after this step and store in the refrigerator for later use. . . . . . . . . .
What can I do with soggy cucumbers? ›
Limp cucumbers can be revived by slicing off the end and standing in a bowl of cold water. If you find yourself with leftover sliced cucumber, store in a sealable container with a sheet of kitchen towel to keep them crisp.
Should I rinse cucumbers after salting them? ›
After the cucumbers have been salted for a period of time, you'll want to rinse off the excess salt. At this point, you may be thinking 'what the hell, I just spent all this time removing the water! ' When we salt vegetables we're actually weakening the cell walls and therefore changing the integrity of the cucumber.
How to stop cucumbers from being watery? ›
The solution: The standard recommendation for ridding watery vegetable such as cucumbers of unwanted moisture is to salt them. The salt draws out the liquid from the vegetable because of the natural tendency of salt water solutions to equalize when mixed together.
How do you keep cucumbers crunchy? ›
"It's best to place them in a breathable bag or wrap them loosely in a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture," says Carla L. Schwan, Ph. D., assistant professor and extension food safety specialist director at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Why do my cucumbers get soft so fast? ›
Although not harmful, ethylene is a gas that is released from fruits and vegetables that causes produce to ripen more quickly. Produce experts recommend that produce like cucumbers should not be stored in plastic bags, like the kind you would pick up in the grocery store, as this will cause them to ripen more quickly.
How do you keep cucumbers fresh and firm? ›
Cucumbers are sensitive to ethylene gas released by other fruits or vegetables nearby and wrapping helps protect them from it. (If you do opt for the crisper, vents open, please.) The best option, however, is to seal your wrapped cucumber in a zip-top bag and store it in the fridge door.
