This is why you should always crush your cucumber before eating it
Cucumbers are very versatile vegetables; they taste good with pretty much anything. Put it in a salad, add it to a sandwich or just eat some of it as a snack: it’s all yummy. Many people have one of these green vegetables lying in their fridge at all times, because it’s tasty and contains very few calories. But did you know you should crush a cucumber before eating it if you want to get the best flavour possible?
Do this to make your cucumber more tasty.
Water
Part of the reason why cucumbers contain so few calories is because they consist mostly of water. Because of this, they can also absorb other flavours. That’s why chefs and home chefs from the Asian cuisine have been using this technique of crushing cucumbers before slicing them for a long time. The reason for this is most likely to make sure the vegetable dries out a little bit. This way, it will become more flavoursome and it can absorb other flavours better. This can be very useful, for example when you’re using cucumber in a salad with a dressing.
This is how you do it
If you’re using an entire cucumber it’s best to slice it into four pieces with a large knife. Push the flat side of the knife down on one of the pieces. This is basically the same method as the one you use for crushing garlic. After crushing the vegetable like this, you can just slice it like you would normally.
Flavour
By crushing the cucumber, you make sure it becomes more flavoursome. Another trick to make this happen is sprinkling some salt on your cubes or slices of cucumber (after crushing and slicing it) and putting it in the fridge for about half an hour. You’ll notice the vegetable will take on a fresh, green colour and have an even better taste.
