armenian cucumbers

[CatlinPM]

Can you use armenian cucumbers to make pickles? I have made fridge pickles with them and they were delicious, but I ate them in a couple of days. My concern with canning them is that they wouldn't hold up in the long haul? I have armenian cuc's coming out of my ears! I'm picking 2 or three of them every other day, and if you miss one they get huge fast! My husband doesn't like anything "cucumber" related so it's just me that eats them (well ok my 3 year old likes them too but he doesn't make much of a dent) How do you all eat your armenian cucumbers? Maybe theres a recipe I can get my husband to eat!

[older than dirt]

We have made pickles out of watermelon rind, okra, & zucchini your cucumber should do ok :cool:

[bunkie]

we grow armenian cukes especially for this pickle recipe...they hold up really well, and are crunchy!

Dill Pickles

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dill-Pickles/Detail.aspx

"This recipe for Kosher style dills was given to me 25 years ago by a farmers wife who grew cucumbers and it has never let me down. The two things I have found critical to crisp dill pickles are soaking the cukes in ice water for at least 2 hours and ensuring the brine is at a full boil when poured over the dills."

Original recipe yield:
8 - 1 quart jars


INGREDIENTS

8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers

4 cups white vinegar

12 cups water

2/3 cup pickling salt

16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

8 sprigs fresh dill weed

8 heads fresh dill weed


DIRECTIONS


Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink ( I use the bathtub!) with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required. Sterilize 8 (1 quart ) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.

In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic, one head of dill, then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and 1 sprig of dill. Fill jars with hot brine. Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue.

Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.

Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place.

[morkelkey]

The Armenian Cucumber is actually a type of melon (Cucumis melo var flexuosus), which is long and slender, in which - like the cucumber - the fruits are Frick thought for sure he'd gotten English Cucumber seeds, but these cucumbers didn't look at all like ones he'd grown in the past. Even though he didn't grow English cucumbers he hasn't been disappointed. The Armenian variety are great on salads, and they aren't quite as strong.

[CatlinPM]

we grow armenian cukes especially for this pickle recipe...they hold up really well, and are crunchy!

Thank you very much for the recipe, I will definitely be trying this! I'm glad to hear they hold up well for this since I have so many of them :)

[bunkie]

one other thing is that the longer they get, they never get bitter.

[bluelacedredhead]

Thanks for the recipe Bunkie!

I'm thrilled to hear that Armenian Cucumbers do indeed grow someplace other than my place, lol

This terrible unseasonably cold weather did it the only plant that germinated for me this year...
I'll keep your ideas in mind for another gardening season.

[Osh]

one other thing is that the longer they get, they never get bitter.

yeah, isn't that great! What I have done, is to let them get big...say foot, foot and a half, maybe six to eight inches across. Cut in two pieces, long ways, open up, and scoop those seeds out just like cantaloupe. Again, like cantaloupe, cut each half into four pieces, long ways, and peel and toss that nasty sharkskin looking rind off. Cut those pieces up into sections about 1/2" thick and then pickle those. That recipe you show there quite similar to the one we use, without the ice cubes..will have to try that this year.

When done up in this fashion, we use them right out of the jar in salads, what have you.

Oh, also sometimes we add a green jalapeno "budding", ie not full sized.

And never bitter. Love these things. Only other cuke I can get to grow out here is the Lemon Cukes. Nothing else, and I've tried a ton of different ones, seem to bother putting on fruit..Too hot I guess.

By the way, the old folks, which is me now too, refer to these things as Quays.

[Desert Rat]

Armenian Cukes are good diced and added to fruit salad. I can get kids to eat them this way and not know they are eating a vegetable. They can also be peeled and stir fried like you would zucchini and they stay firm unlike overdone zucchini.