Our favourite cucumbers - the White Russian - have finally started producing. Yay!
We first started growing these on the recommendation of a friend, as the most resilient variety to grow during the hot, humid conditions of a Mid-North Coast summer. He was right, and then we tasted them!
The cucumber eaters in our family find White Russians sweeter, crisper and more refreshing than any other cucumber. They are easily our favourite, and we only eat Lebanese cucumbers while we wait for these to come on.
And we love them when they are big.
As consumers we've all been trained that large or yellow cucumbers are old and bitter. While that's true for many varieties, it's definitely not the case with these.
The ones in the photo above range in maturity, represented by size and colour. The smallest is white with a bit of a greenish tinge. The second is larger and mostly white with a blush of gold on the far end. The third is whitey-yellow with more gold on the end, and the largest is gold all over.
There is no bitterness in any of these cucumbers.
The smaller cucumbers are slightly sweeter than the very large, and the seeds in the small ones are less developed - and we love the seeds. The medium ones tend to be the sweetest and crispest, though some of us are happy to eat the big ones by the handful, calling them their favourite fruit.
Our favourite way to eat them: take toast, add a generous spread of peanut butter, thinly peel the Russians and add them sliced about 15mm thick, then top with a slight sprinkle of salt - even better if it's herb or garlic salt.
Give them a go!