In this post we show step by step how to cut a cucumber in different ways. Cucumbers are very healthy, low in calories, mostly water and these crunchy vegetables are incredibly popular ingredients in salads on a sandwich, in sushi or to snack on. How you cut a cucumber will depend on the use. There are many ways to cut this incredible vegetable. Learn here how to peel, remove the seeds and dice, slice, cut or julienne a cucumber.

Prepare a Cucumber

Most people do not peel a cucumber or remove the pits before eating or using it in salad. The variety of cucumber plays a role in choosing to remove the pits or skin. With English cucumbers the pits are very small and skin very thin so it is really not necessary to remove either, with other varieties the pits can be a bit large and skin tough so it is sometimes removed. If you plan to cook the cucumber you should also remove the skin. Also check if the cucumber skin has been waxed (to make it look shiny), it should be removed. A lot of vitamins and minerals in this fruit is concentrated in the skin and thus lost if you peel the fruit.

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wash cucumber under water — Start of by washing the cucumber well under cold running water.

Wash the Cucumber

Always wash the cucumber well under cold running water.

How to Peel the Cucumber

Slice off both ends of the cucumber leaving you with two flat exposed tips.
Remove the dark green outer skin of the cucumber using a peeler from end to end, take the skin off in long strips.
A pairing knife can also be used, but this can result in a lot of wasting by cutting away too much, leaving you with little cucumber!

If required peel the cucumber with a vegetable peeler.

How to Seed a Cucumber

You can remove them by cutting the cucumber in half lengthwise and scraping out the seeds with a spoon.

seed cucumber with a spoon — Slice the cucumber in half down the length and seed each half using a spoon.

How to Dice a Cucumber

Chop off both ends of the cucumber.

2. Cut the cucumber in half giving you two shorter, pieces, easier to manage.

3. Slice each piece lengthwise down the center resulting in 4 halves, each with one flat side.

cut cucumber pieces in half length wise — Cut cucumber pieces in half along the length.

Place al the cucumber pieces flat sides down on a cutting board, cut these pieces lengthwise down the center again yielding cucumber quarters.

cut pieces into cucumber quarters — Halve cucumber pieces along the length to give cucumber quarters.

Lay all the cucumber quarters flat side by side on the cutting board.

Cut the quarters across in thin diced pieces.

dice cucumber — Cut across the cucumber pieces to yield diced cucumber.

Diced cucumber is great to use in salads such as this interesting and delicious Mango and Cucumber salad, the earthy and fresh Beetroot Feta Cucumber salad and this Mediterranean cucumber and tomato salad

How to Julienne a Cucumber

Cut off both ends of the cucumber.

2. Cut the cucumber into 3 to 4 smaller pieces.

3. Make one piece stand up vertically and slice down one side of the cucumber to create a flat side. Repeat for each piece.

julienne cucumber cut flat side — Make one piece stand up vertically and cut down one side of the cucumber to create a flat side.

Place the cucumber pieces flat side down on the cutting board and cut thin slices lengthwise, about 6 to 8 thin slices.

cut cucumber into thin slices — Place the flat side on the cutting board and carefully cut the cucumber piece into thin slices.

Stack these slices on top of each other and cut matchstick-shaped cucumber pieces.

stack the cucumber slices and cut into matchstick pieces — Stack the thin cucumber slices and gently cut into matchstick thin pieces giving you julienned cucumber.

Cut Cucumber Medallions

Cucumber medallions is probably the simplest and most common way to cut cucumbers and is great for use in salads or snacking. Create cucumber medallions by slicing through the length of the cucumber resulting in cucumber medallions. For snacks cut them a little bit thicker. I like to cut them thin to use in salad.

cut english cucumber medallions — Creating cucumber medallions by slicing across the cucumber.

We make this creamy keto cucumber salad (Gurkensalat) with thin cucumber medallions.

Cucumber varieties

Cucumber is a creeping vine plant that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. It mostly carries dark green cylindrical fruits, called Cucumbers, that are used as vegetables. There are many varieties of cucumber. Some varieties you will peel and prepare, for some varieties it is not necessary.

English Cucumber

English cucumbers are the ones sold individually wrapped in a plastic film in the supermarket. They are wrapped to protect them because they have a very thin skin, this means peeling them is not really necessary. English cucumber are mild, relatively seedless. This is great and more convenient, they are a bit sweet, however more watery and less flavorful than other popular varieties such as the American cucumber. The thin skin and small pits makes them excellent for slicing and sandwiches without peeling.

The American Cucumber (Garden Cucumber)

The American cucumber (also called Garden cucumbers) are the most common cucumbers in North America. They are dark green with a relatively smooth-skin. When sold in grocery stores, American cucumbers sold are usually waxed to help them retain moisture, it is recommended to peel them to remove the wax layer. Since this variety has large pits it is recommended to remove the pits.

Persian Cucumbers

Persian Cucumbers are very similar to English cucumbers, they have a thin smooth skin and small pits. They are smaller than English cucumbers. These delicate, crunchy cucumbers are perfect for salads and snacks.

How to Store a Cucumber

Cucumbers last the longest when stored in the refrigerator, whole cucumbers can be stored like this for around 4 days. At room temperature a cucumber should last about 2 days. They can develop softs spots called chilling injury in the fridge, so try to not to keep them in the coldest part of the fridge (keep them in the middle somewhere towards the front of the fridge). Sliced cucumbers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.