| Pantry | Refrigerator | Freezer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | - | 5-7 Days | - |
| Cut | - | 1-3 Days | - |
What is The Shelf Life of Cucumbers?
Cucumbers are categorized as fruits, but they are consumed as vegetables. It belongs to the botanical family including the watermelons. The scientific name of cucumber is Cucumis Sativas. Commercially there are two types of cucumber, slicing and pickling cucumbers.
The cucumbers do not have the use by date, sell by time or best before date. The cucumbers along with other fresh vegetables are sold with a purchase date mentioned on top. The cucumbers are low cost, enriched with vitamins such as A, K and potassium, low calories and highly versatile serving as a snack.
The fresh cucumbers last for one week in the fridge. The English, Persian, Pickling or Japanese cucumbers last for 7-10 days in the refrigerator. The sliced cucumbers last for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.
What Should You Look for While Buying Cucumber?
Choose the cucumbers which are bright, with even skin color without any sweating or dullness. The cucumber should appear as fresh.
Check the firmness while buying the cucumber. A perfect cucumber will not bend but remains firm. The stiffness is present right through the cucumber tips. Look for cucumbers which are fleshy but not massive in size or shape. Small sized cucumbers have a crisper taste with whole seeds; the small cucumbers are more appealing especially to kids.
Avoid buying cucumbers with soft spots, wrinkled skin, blemishes, yellowish or the ones which easily bent, as these are the signs indicating that cucumber is aging. Avoid buying the cucumbers with a soft and white slimy surface as they are the indicators of cucumber turning bad, rotten or spoiled.
How to Store Cucumbers?
To extend the lifetime of the cucumbers, you need to store the cucumbers unpeeled within a plastic bag and place it in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. Avoid washing them before placing them in the refrigerator. However, properly rinse and scrub the cucumbers before eating because the cucumbers are covered with an edible wax which has a pathetic taste. You can store the cut cucumbers in a baggie, including the cut end with the help of damp paper towel serving as the best storage method.
Avoid storing cucumbers in the refrigerator because they are sensitive to the cold environment. They survive much better over the countertop unless you finish them in 3 days. Avoid storing the cucumbers near the fruits especially the tomatoes, melons or bananas because they result in yellowish discoloration of the cucumbers and deteriorate rapidly.
How to Handle Cucumbers?
Scrub and rinse the cucumbers thoroughly under water. You need to peel the non-organic cucumbers to remove any eatable wax present on them as it has a bad taste.
How to Cook With Cucumbers?
Cucumbers are juice and thirst-quenching. They can either be sautéed or roasted. The cucumbers can also be used for preparing the cocktails and serving them as salads in addition to the meals.