Cucumber: Buying the Nutritious Health Boosting Fruit from Farmy
Cucumbers are low in calories but high in beneficial health nutrients. They add flavour in various cuisine dishes, and also a valuable regimen in most spa treatments.
What is Cucumber?
Cucumber is a widely cultivated plant vegetable belonging to the gourd family. The plant, which exists in three main varieties, bears fruits used as vegetables to prepare food and medicinal purpose. Cucumbers are long, green fruits whose taste ranges from bitter to mild melon flavour and aroma. Their seeds pack many health nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, iron, and calcium. Today, these vegetables are grown for two main reasons: food preparation and treatment regimens. In beauty spas, cucumber cut slices placed on the skin help with skin toning and relaxation.
The cucumber plant is native to South Asia but now adaptive to most continents. The plant originated in India, where records of its cultivation date to at least 3,000 years ago. Other mentions of its cultivation date back to the 9th century in France, the 14th century in England, and the 16th century in North America.
Interesting Facts about Cucumber Fruit and Seeds
These vegetables are one of the earliest domesticated vegetable fruits. Their fruits and seeds were excellent ingredients in both food preparations and medicinal use as early as 4,000 years ago. In the ancient Roman Empire, cucumber fruit and seeds cured over 40 various diseases. The fruit also acted as a supernatural ingredient in warding off spells, evil influences, and performing religious rituals. During Roman times, Emperor Tiberius gave an order that his dining table should have cucumber fruits at all times.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, many European countries ignored the use of cucumber plants as healthy food vegetables. Luckily, the plant got revived after the arrival of the Renaissance up to the 18th century.
The fruits contain about 95% water and 5% flesh. Also, its seeds contain trace metal elements essential for healthy metabolism. Cucumber juice has various uses in the house, including cleaning a steaming bathroom mirror. Cucumber slices also act as shoe polishers, erasers for ordinary pencils, and excellent removers of crayon markings from the walls.
What are the Common Types of Cucumbers?
Generally, cucumber plant exists in three varieties, namely the “slicing,” “pickling,” and “burpless.”
Slicing vegetable cucumbers are best for raw or fresh consumption. The plant grows large leaves that provide shading to other crops. These vegetables are best eaten unripe in their green colour since they tend to become bitter or sour once yellow and ripe. In Switzerland, this plant variety grows fewer seeds but with smoother skin, unlike the American cousin, which has many seeds and a rougher surface. Sometimes this variety is known as English cucumber. It’s not common in most food servings.
Pickling cucumbers are excellent in making flavoured food products. The fruits pickles use vinegar, brine, food spices, and sugar. Although it’s possible to pickle other fruit varieties, commercial pickles require cucumbers specially bred for pickling. The most prevalent pickling cucumber is the Gherkin plant. Gherkins, also known as baby pickles or cornichons, typically measure about 1- 5 inches. They have bumpy skin and originate in the Netherlands.
Burpless cucumbers have thinner skin and often sweeter than other varieties. These vegetables prepare food with a pleasant taste and often reputed as easy to digest. They have delicate skin and contains minimal seed, and in some cases, seedless. The vegetables derive their name from the fact that they do not give some people gas, unlike other varieties.
Health and Nutritional Benefits of Cucumber
Cucumbers are healthy fruits with high water content and a refreshing flavour. They are pleasant vegetables to eat in hot weather. They help relieve dehydration, prepare sweet and savoury food, and feature in some beauty products. This vegetable fruit is low in calories but rich in various nutritional and health-boosting compounds. Below are some potential, as well as evidence-based health benefits of consuming cucumber fruit.
The vegetable helps with hydration. The fruits consist mostly of water and other essential electrolytes found in its seeds. Therefore, regular intake of this vegetable can help dehydrate the body on a hot day or after an intensive exercise. Adding mint to the cucumber fruit juice makes it more attractive. Keeping the body hydrated is essential for preventing kidney stones, avoiding constipation, and improving intestine health.
The vegetable can help improve bone health. The seeds are rich in vitamin K, which facilitates blood clotting and bone health. Unpeeled or raw cucumber food provides adequate amounts of dietary calcium, and vitamins D and K. Calcium and vitamin K work together to boost bone health.
According to medical research, eating cucumber vegetables can help prevent cancer. Their seeds and skin contain high levels of bitter-tasting nutrients. Regular intake of these vegetable nutrients helps avoid diseases of cancer by stopping the reproduction of cancer cells. Also, the vegetable contains a high amount of fibre essential for maintaining cardiovascular health. Unpeeled cucumber fruit provides magnesium, potassium, and fibre, which leads to reduced sodium intake. Low sodium levels can facilitate the prevention of certain cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure.
The cut slices of the fruits can help improve skin health. Some people apply sliced cucumbers directly on the skin to help soothe and cool the skin. It can alleviate sunburn, reduce irritation, and swelling. Other people place the cuttings on the eye to reduce morning puffiness. In the beauty spas, the vegetable acts as skin toners to clear pores, or as face packs to minimise blackheads and dry skin.
Buying Cucumber Online from Farmy
Farmy is a transparent online shop offering the freshest and sweetest farm products. The cucumbers available at Farmy come from local farmers who use organic farming methods. Therefore, customers can access fresh, nutrition-rich cucumbers without compromising on health.
Also, Farmy practices eco-friendly operations such as electric car deliveries, thus saving the environment from pollution.