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| Salt and Pepper Cucumbers |
Several years ago, I went to a local garden store in May looking for cucumber starts. The store had two shelves full of cucumber plants, one shelf labeled “slicing” and the other labeled “pickling.” I wanted to grow cucumbers for salad, so I grabbed some plants from the slicing shelf and bought them.
When I got home, I looked at the plant tags more closely and discovered they were pickling cucumbers, a white-skinned variety called “Salt and Pepper.” Aaaaargh! Why were pickling cucumbers on the slicing shelf?
I planted the plants anyway. The cucumbers were wonderful! I’ve planted them every year since.
I’ve learned a few things about slicing versus pickling cucumbers through this experience. Slicing cucumbers, sometimes called salad cucumbers, are bigger than picklers. They also have thicker skin, so they need to be peeled for your salad, unlike picklers. Slicing cucumbers can be used to make pickles, but you’ll make better pickles with pickling cucumbers, which have denser flesh and make a crisper pickle.
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| Photo by Amy Norwood |
The Salt and Pepper pickling cucumber works well for both salad and pickles. It’s very tasty in salad. It doesn’t require peeling for salad or pickles. Its smaller size makes it a good choice for single-serving salads. Its white skin makes a statement in salad greens.
For those of you who would like to venture beyond green pickles and relish, the Salt and Pepper’s white skin gives these items a different look. With this post is a picture of two jars of relish. The dark green relish is made with green-skinned picklers. The lighter green relish is made with Salt and Peppers (turmeric in the brine imparts a golden tint to this relish). Think of the fun confetti relish you could make with Salt and Peppers, purple onions and a colorful variety of peppers!
I will do that this summer unless I eat all my Salt and Peppers in salad!