"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
5.250...
> On Tue 13 Jul 2010 09:23:06p, Paul M. Cook told us...
>
>>
>> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
>> 5.247...
>>> How do you effectively remove the was coating applied to regular
>>> cucumbers?
>>>
>>> I usually buy English cucumbers when I want to use them with the
>>> skin on, and usually peel regular cucumbers because of the wax.
>>> It would be nice to use them with the skin if I could get all the
>>> waxs off.
>>
>>
>> A lot of cukes have very bitter skin. Baking soda and lemon juice
>> in warm water and a vegetable brush is the only way I know to get
>> the wax off. I suppose a quick dunk in boiling water could
>> possibly do the job but I've never tried it.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
>>
>
> Thanks, Paul. I'll give that a shot. Actually I'm thinking certain
> types of pickles that call for regular cucumbers (with the skin). I
> think the pickling process will eliminate any bitterness that might
> be there.
>

Depends on when they harvest the cukes. Your typical pickling cuke is
harvested at about 4-5 inches but will grow much bigger on the vine. The
bigger the cuke, the more bitter the skin. I am growing 2 varieties of
cukes this year, yellow lemon and red Hmong. Both have very sweet skins if
picked before fully ripe. The RH skins are bitter as hell past about 6
inches in size.

If I had the need for a crate of cukes for pickling I'd fid a farmers market
and get them wax free to start with.

Paul