Suyo Long Cucumbers

Cucumis sativus.

Someone in my home loves cucumbers. Once they are washed, the spines brushed away, sliced and splashed with the special house  dressing, we can forget about leftovers.

Until now. Welcome Suyo Long cucumbers to the dinner table. A long cucumber that  helps fill up a teenage boys stomach for at least a couple of hours. It really is a wonderful vegetable for a snack. 

Even though cucumbers are a summer crop in this area, the heat brings out the  bitterness in the flavor due to the presence of cucurbitacin- a triterpene compound that gives cucumbers its distinctive flavor and protects it from herbivores. Too much cucurbutacin  causes a bitter taste and resulting  nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps . After tasting an English, Persian and lemon cucumber, I found an heirloom variety with a unique shape, length , crispy texture  and thin skin. 

Suyo Long is a parthenocarpic (small seeds) cucumber variety, native to China that thrives in the heat  can produce cucumbers as long as 16 inches. The shape varies - straight vs S shaped-depending on the use of a trellis.

Cucumbers are frequently used to flavor water with lime and other flavors but you miss out of some important nutrients.

Antioxidants
Vitamin K, beta carotene, lignans. Fisetin, a flavonoid,  is one  antioxidant  found in cucumbers currently  studied for its anti-aging, anti inflammatory, chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties- in a lab setting. It's a vegetable not a magic pill.  As part of a well balanced diet filled with a rainbow of fruit and vegetables, cucumbers  definitely deserve a place at the table and in so many cuisines are key ingredients.. 

Fiber
Eat The Peel. Suyo Long  has a  thinner  skin than the traditional  cucumber found in supermarkets but still contains a substantial amount of  insoluble fiber that adds bulk to your intestinal tract which benefit your gut microbiome. As with most vegetables and fruit high in fiber, cucumbers may play a role in the prevention and management of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Even the seeds contain flavonoids(plant pigments) , carotenoids, calcium, manganese, iron and zinc.

Storage
 Wash thoroughly.  Eat within 24- 48 hours of harvesting  to preserve crispness or cut into 6 in pieces and refrigerate in water.
, a tri