Cucumber

About

Cucumber varieties share a consistent green, grassy flavor, with differences mainly in bitterness and crispness rather than distinct taste; even the lemon cucumber only resembles a lemon in shape and color, not flavor. Its clean, watery quality suits salads and garnishes, and pairs well with sour or salty ingredients like yogurt, goat cheese, dill and vinegar, which offset any bitterness. Pickled forms (gherkins, cornichons, dill spears) complement fatty foods like pâté and charcuterie. Borage, a cucumber-flavored herb, is related and can be used similarly in salads, cordials or drink garnishes.

Pairs well with cucumber

• FrTomatoAlthough tomato and cucumber are central to modern gazpacho, the dish predates their arrival from the Americas, it was originally made…
• SuGarlicCucumber and garlic appear in Chinese pickled-cucumber salads (sometimes using fried rather than raw garlic for a milder effect) and, most…
• BeMintCucumber and mint, often combined with cooling yogurt, form the basis of dishes found across a wide band from Greece to India: cacik in…
• MaShellfishThe soft saltiness of very fresh shellfish plays well against cucumber's clean, mineral character, for example in sesame-shrimp toasted…
• MePorkFrench rillettes, pork, duck or goose slow-cooked in fat, then shredded into a rich, spreadable paste, is traditionally served with tiny…
• GrAniseA 1998 study by Chicago's Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation found that, among various scents tested, women rated a…
• GrAvocadoA cold soup can be made by blending avocado with peeled, seeded cucumber and lemon juice; avocado dominates but cucumber's fresh green…
• EaCuminFood writer Sybil Kapoor notes cumin pairs well with other mildly bitter vegetables such as cucumber, eggplant and cauliflower, its…
• SuOnionIn Chinese food theory, cool, watery cucumber is considered yin and warm, pungent onion yang.
• WoCarrotThe two make a quick pickle: matchsticks of carrot and cucumber are salted briefly, rinsed, dried, then mixed with rice wine vinegar and…
• MaOily FishFreshly caught smelt, a small fish, has a distinct cucumber smell (some compare it instead to violets or cut grass); salmon similarly…
• ChGoat CheeseA simple French bistro starter, thin cucumber slices topped with goat cheese and parsley, shows the pairing at its best: cucumber's…
• RoPeanutThe Indian dish khamang kakadi combines diced cucumber, roasted crushed peanuts, chopped green chili and grated coconut, dressed with…
• FrStrawberryIn provincial France, a traditional wedding-breakfast soup combined strawberry with borage, an herb with a cucumber-like flavor, along…
• GrDillDill and cucumber is a classic, refreshing combination, familiar from American deli pickles.
• MuCaperCornichons, small pickled cucumbers with thin, crunchy skin, are combined with capers in tartare sauce, in sauce gribiche (with herbs and…
• FrRhubarbRaw rhubarb dipped in sugar is a classic sharp, mouth-puckering treat; some cultures instead dip rhubarb in salt.
• CrMelonCucumber and melon, especially the Galia variety, share green, grassy flavor notes.
• FfRoseCucumber and rose share a summery, herbal quality, an affinity used deliberately in Hendrick's Gin, where Bulgarian rose and cucumber…
• FrWatermelonWatermelon is related to cucumber and shares many of its flavor characteristics, so it pairs naturally with cucumber's usual partners,…