If you have ever bitten into a bitter cucumber, you know it’s not something you want to do again. If you grow your own cukes, a few simple techniques will help you avoid bitter fruit.
Why Cucumbers Taste Bitter
Cucumbers contain the natural compound cucurbitacin, which causes bitterness. Bitterness varies by variety of cucumber and by temperatures during the growing season.
Uneven watering increases bitterness, as does cool weather. Fertilization, plant spacing, and watering may also affect bitterness, although plant scientists have not found consistent cause and effect.
Growing Great Cucumbers
Plant cucumber varieties that are less bitter. Studies in eastern Washington State found that Burpee Pickler produces four times as much bitter fruit as National Pickling.
Plant cucumbers in warm soil in warm, sunny locations. Since misshapen fruit tend to be more bitter, and uneven watering contributes to misshapen fruit, it’s important to provide adequate and consistent irrigation.
Mulching helps maintain even soil moisture. Inadequate nutrient levels also contribute to uneven growth, so ample fertilization can help prevent bitterness. A soil test can provide guidance on the fertilizer and amendments your soil needs.
Peel Away the Cucumber Bitterness
Bitterness varies in the different parts of a cucumber. The stem end, the peel, and the light green area just under the peel have higher concentrations of the bitter compound than the interior flesh. While not everyone agrees about this, some gardeners say you can peel away the bitterness this way:
* Start at the blossom end of the fruit.
* Slice off one strip of peel, stopping about one inch from the stem end.
* Wash the knife, then continue slicing off strips until the cuke is completely peeled.
* Wash the knife again before cutting up the cucumber.
Want to learn more about preventing bitter cucumbers?
The following extension websites have excellent information about bitterness in cucumbers and how to prevent it. Since local growing conditions affect bitterness, it’s a good idea to check with your extension service about the best varieties and growing methods for your area.
To find the nearest extension office, go to The National Institute of Food and Agriculture website.
Cucumber Bitterness Explained from Oregon State University Extension Service
What Makes My Cucumbers Taste Bitter? from NC Cooperative Extension
Creative Commons Flickr photo courtesy of David Davies
Will canned bitter cucumbers still taste bitter and is this healthy to eat ?
The bitterness will remain no matter what. The biutter cucumber isn’t dangerous, although inedible because of the bitterness.
As a child I was taught to rub the cucumber when the first slice was made, seals in the sweetness, try it found it works
I have a ton of cucumbers and this worked great…thank you…
Me too. Every time we’d slice up garden cucumbers on the farm, we cut off the blossom end and rub it against the cuke in a circular motion. Worked every time.
True. I do it too works every time.
Aww my father taught me that too. Works almost all of the time. Although, sadly some of my garden cukes are still bitter. :/
Using stainless adds to bitterness…use ceramic bladed knives help…also helps to keep food from turning as fast using ceramic blades….just so you know
yes this worked great…I used my ceramic knife and viola…no bitter cucumbers…thank you…
Yes!!
Try growing “Lemon Cucumbers”. they grow to about softball size, are very sweet and never bitter. They pickle great and always are crunchy and sweet. The only drawback is that they do not last but 2 days in the fridge before they start drying out. The skin is more edible than regular cucumbers. My kids pick them and eat them, after washing, right from the vine. Theya re a great novelty when given away to frinds and family. The vines continue to provide cucumbers later into the year than regular cucs. You can order them online.
Never bitter? Hogwash. They are the reason I’m here. The bitterness increases as the season progresses. Also, the yellow lemon cukes tend to be more bitter.
So far everyone of my lemon cucumbers are bitter. I’ve grown these in the past with no problem.
My cucumbers are sunburning…my armenian cucumbers hold up much better to this central california heat. Less seeds if i harvest them when they are smaller.
Fewer seeds….not less seeds.
Omg are you the grammar police? Get over yourself
All cucumber-melons (melons picked immature as cucumbers) hold up better in the heat. However, the texture and juiciness vary depending upon variety. The light Armenian are some of the most hard and crunchy (like a hard carrot) unless you pick them earlier. Then they are tender but often dry.
Many carosello remain juicy and crisp yet tender much longer than Armenian cucumbers.
Cut an end off cucumber rub two pieces of cuke together in circular motion. It will foam. Do this till it stops. Rinse in cool water. Repeat at other end.
This was tested at a university. It is proven to work.
I hope I remember this when I have cucumbers this summer!
Yes, you have to “milk” the cucumber to get the bitterness out. Funny, I have never found anyone who knows this little trick
Funnily enough, Chinese people do this with cucumbers. Perhaps not so much now that cucs are better and one doesn’t encounter butter cucs as often.
I never found that to work, the cucumber still tasted bitter. I did peel and slice some cucumbers into some Italian dressing and after sitting in the dressing overnight, they were actually sweet.
I’m with Marie, My dad showed us how to take the bitterness away by rubbing the the ends together. This was back in the 60’s. I never have bitter cucumbers. Really works!!!
Debby is right! Regular cucumber varieties will become bitter when exposed to hot dry conditions. Cucumber-melon varieties have always solved this problem for me. In my experience, Carosello and Armenian cucumbers are always bitter-free and burpless (don’t cause indigestion). They also tend to grow faster as the summer wears on.
Though there are other seed suppliers who may carry a few of these cucumber types, Cucumbershop.com tends to have some of the most varieties at a very reasonable price.
Dear friends. In surinam we used to take away the bitterness out of the cucumber by slicing off the top where the fruit was attached to the plant. About 2cm thick. Don’t peel the ccumber yet! than start rubbing the top that you cut off over de cucumber (the other open side where you just cut off the top). As you rub in rounds you will notice that a white substance is creating between the two sides where you cut the ccumber. The more you rub the more white foam will appear. You can taste the white foam: it is bitter. Rubbing about a 1/2 minute is enough. Cut again the top with the white foam. If you slice the ccumber and you find it still bitter than you can peel it. But i’m sure the bitterness is gone now after ‘foaming” :). Succes and kind regards.
To get rid of the bitterness, cut off the stem end, then take that piece and rub it in a circular motion against the place it was just cut off of – you will see a white foam start to appear. I do this for 30 seconds or do- then throw stem piece away and take another slim slice off the cucumber, the only white foam is the bitter being drawn out
So glad to have the advice.Before this year I was never troubled with bitter cucumbers and have been putting them in the compost!!what a waste.
Thank you.
I grew up using the method of rubbing the cucumber end to get the bitter out. My grandmother taught my Mom and she taught me! But a couple of years in a row I grew cukes so bitter that this method didn’t even work! So then I tried something I had read about: growing sunflowers and cukes together! It worked! I kept the lower leaves of the sunflowers trimmed so the cukes got the sun they needed and we have been getting lots of sweetness and no bitter!
I have found that if you completely peel the cucumber and sprinkle salt on it then rub the salt with both hands it will ‘sweat ‘ the bitterness out. This only takes seconds on each but will remove bitterness.
I recently had a disappointing experience with a bitter cucumber, and wondered if salting it would work like it does with eggplant. Thanks!
I have thrown away a ton of bitter cumbersome in my life time. . Thank for all the info. I will plant them again this spring after several years hiatus.