Choose firm shiny cucumbers with unwrinkled stems, and never settle for a cucumber which is turning yellow.

Organically grown cucumbers are worth the extra money, since they tend to have more flavour.

Try growing apple or lemon cucumbers: yellow and almost spherical, they have a fine flavour.

Modern varieties are 'burpless' (which means digestible) and even the bumpy skinned outdoor varieties don't usually need the salting to draw out the bitterness described in old recipe books.

Chilled Prawn And Cucumber Soup   Cucumber And Mint Soup   Cucumber And Mint Water Ice   Cucumber And Pork With Soy Sauce   Cucumber Creams   Cucumber In Soured Cream   Cucumbers With Chives   Stuffed Cucumbers   Sweet And Sour Cucumbers   Sweet Cucumber Pickle