Cucumbers are vegetables that many of us eat regularly. You can’t call them scarce – you can buy cucumbers in almost any store and at any time of the year. They occupy an important place in the culinary traditions of many countries.
- Over 95% of a cucumber is water.
- The homeland of cucumbers is the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. There, cucumbers still grow in the wild by themselves.
- Cucumbers and melons share common ancestors.
- The history of cucumbers as a vegetable grown for food dates back more than six thousand years.
- In Ecuador, cucumbers grow the size of zucchini.
- In the United Arab Emirates, breeders have bred cucumbers with square fruits.
- A kilogram of cucumbers contains only about 150 calories, which makes this vegetable a dietary product.
- The French emperor Napoleon promised a large reward to the one who would figure out how to keep cucumbers fresh during long military campaigns.
- The thorns on young cucumbers serve to remove excess moisture from the fruit.
- Cucumbers are mentioned in the Bible.