Cucumbers - did you know?
• The cucurbit family includes melons, pumpkins, squash and courgettes.
• Records show that cucumbers probably originated in India.
• Cultivation spread from India to China, thought to be around 150 BC. The Greeks were great fans of the cucumber as were the Romans who grew them on beds that could be wheeled in and out of the sun. One Roman Emperor, Tiberius, liked cucumbers so much that he insisted on having them with every meal.
• In the 17th century Robert Burton, who wrote the Anatomy of Melancholy, attributed his illness to an over-indulgence of cucumber.
• Cucumber sandwiches, now an integral part of the Wimbledon tennis tournament where 150,000+ are consumed each year, were a product of Victorian England.
• In south London, pickled cucumbers are called "wallys".
• If you pass electricity through a cucumber they will glow bright green.
• Russians enjoy cucumber as a standard accompaniment to vodka.
• Cucumbers should be stored between 10 and 15 degrees or they will go soft.
Author: John Brooks, Global
Published: December 2000