Contents
Characteristics of cucumbers
What are cucumbers?
Cucumbers (Cucumis sp) are plants of the gourd family – Cucurbitaceae, to which some well-known fruits as melons, chayotes or courgettes belong.
Origin and history of cucumbers
They are native from India and they were already used abundantly, together with the melons, in the old Egyptian culture.
According to John Heinerman in his Encyclopedia of Vegetable Fruits and Herbs, remedies with cucumber for the skin were already used by Cleopatra.
Later on, Greeks and Romans also consumed them habitually.
They were so appreciated in the antiquity that Israelis in the exile complained to Moses about having lost the main luxuries of Egypt that, according to them, they thought to be cucumbers and melons.
In recent times they appear as cultivated plants in warm climates in many countries of the world.
Varieties and classes of cucumbers
Different species exist. Bigger ones are used to eat fresh in salads (Cucumis sativus); other smaller ones, as the Indian species Cucumis anguria, are used as a species to put in vinegar.
Some have a more exclusive use, as the Cucumis myriocarpus, a species from South Africa, with potent emetic properties or the Arabic species Cucumis prophetarum that constitutes a strong purge.
Besides these properties, they are used by the perfumery industry for their wealth in aromas to provide odour to certain products.
More information on cucumbers
