CUCUMBERS ARE PLENTIFUL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 10, Issue 247, 17 March 1944, Page 23

CUCUMBERS ARE PLENTIFUL

refreshing and delicate vegetable, and as well as enjoying it in sandwiches and salads, we had better conserve some for later on. Here are some suggestions for using cucumbers in various ways. Cucumber Sauce (With Cold Meat) ~ Peel and grate a cucumber, and add it with % teaspoon mustard and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, to 1 cup of mayonnaise. Serve on slices of cold meat. Hopey’s Cucumber Relish One pound of apples-peel them before weighing, 112lb. onions, 114]b. cucumber, not peeled, 1lb. sugar, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 dessertspoon curry powder, 1 pint vinegar, 2oz. salt. Mince the apples and cook them in the vinegar. When soft, add sugar, pepper, salt and onions. Cook this till soft, then add the minced cucumbers. Boil about five minutes. To colour, add 2 tablespoons turmeric, Cucumber Nests These are made with young apple cucumbers. Peel them, cut in halves, and scoop out seeds. Fill with cold boiled fish. mixed with grated onion, or chopped chives, and moistened with mayonnaise, a little chopped parsley and mint also add to the flavour. If no fish is available, try hard-boiled egg chopped and mixed with a little grated cheese. Place each on a curled lettuce leaf, and surround with slices of beetroot or tomato. If you have only the ordinary cucumbers, cut them lengthwise and shape them like boats. Another nice filling is made with cooked peas and chopped potato, mixed with mayonnaise and sprinkled with chopped mint. Soused Fish with Cucumber Into a casserole or piedish cut up schnapper, mullet or other fish, into suitable pieces, sprinkle with chopped onion, add a little spice, a few cloves and peppercerns, and cover with vinegar. Cover with lid or greased paper, and bake in a moderate oven till cooked-about half an hour. Leave till cold, lift out fish, without breaking, into individual plates, garnish with lemon and strain the liquor over. Eat with freshly-sliced cucumber. Cucumber Jam This is a delicate spread. Peel some well-grown cucumbers, remove seeds, cut into small squares, weigh. Put in preserving pan. To every 4lb, cucumber add loz. whole ginger, bruised. Grate with coarse grater the outside rind of 1 orange and 2 lemons over the cucumber. Discard the white pith, slice orange and lemons over the other ingredients, Add 4'%lb. sugar, leave- to stand 24 hours. Boil until it jellies when tested. Remove the whole ginger before bottling. Preserved Cucumbers Peel and slice good cucumbers-not too old. Put in salted water overnight. Drain well, pack into jars, cover with I: is a very good season for this

cold boiled water, to which a little vinegar has been added. Adjust rubber rings, screw lids lightly, and sterilise for one hour. Seal airtight immediately. Cucumber Pickle Six pounds of cucumbers, 2Ib. onions. Cut and salt them overnight. Next day put 3 pints of vinegar, 142 teaspoons cayenne pepper, 142 teaspoons turmeric powder, %lb. best mustard, or less, to taste, over drained cucumbers and onions. Put in pan and cook 15 °to 20 minutes. People often ask whether cucumbers are more easily digested if sliced and sprinkied with salt and allowed to stand some time before serving. The answer given by an American authority is this: "There is no evidence that salt makes cucumbers easier to digest. Salt would draw water from the cells and make the cucumbers limp and unappetising. This water contains valuable minerals and vitamins, which would be lost, too."