Well, I’m miffed. My cousin Pat had barely gotten her feet wet after arriving on Gabriola when she discovered a wonderful new cucumber before I did. I must be slipping.

            In just two weeks, Pat, her family and guests managed to bottle a batch of wine, go on a fishing charter, catch oysters, spend a day kayaking, visit every beach and pub on the island, celebrate Tequila Tuesday, get to an impressive number of art studios listed in the Gallery Tour Map and discover the lemon cucumber. She probably even put up some chutney in her down time. The added insult was that the lemon cucumber could be found at the Early Dawn nursery, which is off Taylor Bay, just around the corner from us, and not even at her end of the island. Not to be outdone by my cousin, I had to go see them for myself.

            I was at the nursery stand the next day, and found the unusual looking vegetables packages in small Baggies. They looked like greenish lemons, or even small yellow Transparent apples. The two women running the stand are a mother/daughter team, although mom, Helen Cox, quickly pointed out that it was her daughter Dale Ferguson’s place. I wanted to know how they had come across this variety of cucumber. The little research that I had done the previous evening led me to believe that the seeds were not readily available and that few gardners were growing them. Helen told me that a friend from Alberta had told them about the cucumber and suggested they try growing them.

Cucumbers are a member of the gourd family, along with watermelon and squash, but they are most closely related to the cantaloupe. They are thought to have originated several thousand years ago in India, and it is not surprising that the cucumber is a major ingredient in many Indian side dishes such as raita, a yoghurt and cucumber condiment used to counter the hot spiciness of many of their dishes. The cucumber has long been associated with “cool” foods such as Spanish gazpacho and Greek tzatziki.

            The ancient cucumbers of India and the Orient were generally of the long varieties, and today, many of the strangest looking cukes can still be found in Oriental grocery stores, along with their close cousins, oriental melons. The field cucumber, which for many years was the most prevalent variety found commercially in North America, evolved from these ancient long varieties. It is more compact with a dark, glossy rind. To preserve its moisture content and extend its shelf life, unfortunately, it was always heavily waxed, making it necessary to peel before eating. Field cucumbers bought fresh from a farmers’ market will not have the wax. For those of us raised by mothers who insisted upon peeling even the freshest of field cucumbers, try to get over it and enjoy the colour and flavour of the rind. As the cucumber gets older, the rind can become increasingly bitter and may have to be removed.

            The British were the first to develop the long, thin, smooth skinned variety of cucumber most commonly known as the English or Greenhouse cucumber. It is also known less technically as the Burpless cucumber. These cucumbers were developed to be seedless or nearly so, and therefore more easily digestible, producing less stomach gas. The removal of the seeds and other offending flavours also,removed much of the flavour of a field cucumber. Rather than waxing, these cukes are shrink-wrapped to extend their shelf life.

            The lemon cucumber is considered to be the most delicately flavoured of all cucumbers and rarely is it bitter. The name refers to the shape and the lemony-yellow colour of the vegetable and not to its flavour. Helen told me that her young great-grandson really liked them, but thought they were apples. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to get home to cut into one.

I wasn’t disappointed. There is no need to remove the rind. The cross-section of the cuke looks like a lemon. There are five segmented compartments filled with many tender seeds, making it look like a flower. On a veggie platter or in a composed salad, it adds a new colour and attractive garnish. But the flavour is what stands out the most; it is sweet and refreshing.

            The lemon cucumber can also go by two other names. The Joy of Cooking calls this cucumber an Apple cucumber (just like Helen’s great-grandson), and because it has tiny black nubs, it has also been called a Salt and Pepper cucumber. Whichever name it goes by, I hope that these two ladies grow it again next year.