Source: Brother Qiang's Foraging Record
Many friends will ask: cucumbers are obviously green, why are they called cucumbers? In fact, cucumbers were called "courgettes" in ancient times; This is because the cucumber was brought back during the Han Dynasty when Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions. However, Shile, the founder of the Later Zhao Dynasty, strictly forbade the appearance of the word "Hu", so it was renamed cucumber.
As the saying goes: cucumbers are fragrant in early summer, and they can be tasted to quench their thirst. Cucumbers, crisp and juicy, are a regular on the summer table, and even if they are simply mixed with garlic, they are a very delicious accompaniment! In the past, cucumbers could only be eaten in the summer, but now with the improvement of planting technology, you can eat refreshing cucumbers all year round. However, when many friends buy cucumbers, they often encounter some unscrupulous vendors selling cucumbers with "hormones". So, the question is, how can we identify which cucumbers are "hormones"?
In the past, I couldn't tell Brother Qiang, but later we had a popular seasonal vegetable picking here; So when I went to the picking garden with my family to pick seasonal vegetables, the old vegetable farmer told me how to distinguish which cucumbers are naturally ripe and which ones are "hormones" when picking cucumbers. Therefore, today, Brother Qiang, I will share the methods of old vegetable farmers with you, so let's take a look together.
How to identify whether a cucumber has been injected with "hormones"?
Point 1: cucumbers with brightly colored top flowers
In the past, Brother Qiang, I thought that the cucumber with the bright top flower is fresh, if it is not fresh, how can the top flower be so bright! I believe that many friends think the same way as me, right? However, the old vegetable farmer said: flowering and fruiting are the natural laws of plants! Think about it, no matter what fruit or vegetable is, it blooms first and then bears fruit. For example, fruits: apples, pomegranates, pears, etc.; And vegetables are even more, such as beans, tomatoes, loofahs, peppers, etc., as long as they are fruits and vegetables that bloom and bear fruit, they all bloom first and then bear fruit.
The old vegetable farmer said: The top flower of the naturally growing and ripe cucumber must be withered or already withered; If it is very vivid, is this in line with the laws of nature? Have you ever seen an apple with a top flower? Or a loofah? Therefore, when buying cucumbers, remember to buy cucumbers whose top flowers have fallen off naturally, so that cucumbers can grow and ripen naturally.
The second point: cucumbers with thorns and prickly hands
There are also many friends who think that the little spikes on the outer belt of cucumbers, the harder and more prickly they are, the fresher they are! However, the old vegetable farmer said: these small spines on the outer layer of cucumbers are biologically multilayer tumor cells, and when a large number of divisions will form fruit tumors, that is, the protruding part under the cucumber fruit spines. In the tender growth stage of cucumbers, the prickly hairs can help cucumbers avoid pest bites, and can also prevent cucumber leaves from sticking to the body, ensuring that cucumbers have enough breathing space.
However, when the cucumber is ripe, the cucumber does not need these small thorns to protect itself, some of these small thorns will naturally soften, and some will naturally fall off. Generally speaking, naturally ripened cucumbers, even with such fruit thorns, do not prick their hands.
On the contrary, if the cucumber is hit with "hormones", these fruit thorns are not only prickly, but also not only obvious from the appearance, but also unevenly distributed, especially after touching with the hand, the fruit thorns are still not easy to fall off. Therefore, when buying cucumbers, you may wish to try the thorns with your hands, if you touch them, they will fall off, or they will not prick your hands, and they are generally naturally ripe.
Point 3: cucumbers that are not dark in color
As we all know, different varieties of cucumbers, its emerald green color is dark and light. However, the old vegetable farmer said: if it is the same variety of cucumber, the cucumber that is not dark in color cannot be bought! Why? Because the cucumber grows naturally, its growth cycle is relatively long, the time of exposure to light is naturally long, and the color of the appearance is naturally dark.
On the contrary, cucumbers injected with hormones, due to the short growth cycle, the natural time of exposure to light is short, and the color of its skin is naturally light. Therefore, when buying cucumbers, you may wish to go around the stalls first, if it is the same kind of cucumber, choose the dark one!
Point 4: Misshapen cucumbers
In the past, every time I went to buy cucumbers, many vendors who bought cucumbers said that the crooked cucumbers were all grown in their own fields, and those straight cucumbers were hormones. Actually, quite the opposite! Only cucumbers that have been injected with hormones, especially when sprayed unevenly and too much, cucumbers will appear a large number of deformities!
Generally speaking, as long as there are more deformities in a bunch of cucumbers, it is basically caused by excessive hormone use! Because, although there are deformed cucumbers that grow naturally, the number is very small, and most of them are straight or slightly curved. Because the bending of cucumbers mainly depends on the growing conditions, when the conditions such as temperature, light, water, and fertilizer are suitable, the cucumber will be straight. Therefore, when buying cucumbers in the future, remember not to buy deformed cucumbers as much as possible!