Cucumbers are vegetables that many of us regularly consume. Deficient they can not be called – you can buy cucumbers in almost any store and at any time of the year. They occupy an important place in the culinary traditions of many countries, including Russia, and very few people know that cucumbers came from very far-off lands.
More than 95% of the cucumber is water.
The homeland of cucumbers is the foot of the Himalayan mountains. There cucumbers still grow in the wild by themselves.
Cucumbers and melons are common ancestors.
The history of the cucumber, as a vegetable grown in food, is more than six thousand years old.
Ecuador grows cucumber the size of a zucchini.
In the United Arab Emirates, the breeders brought out cucumbers with square fruits.
A kilogram of cucumbers contains only about 150 calories, which makes this vegetable a dietary product.
The French emperor Napoleon promised a great reward to someone who would figure out how to keep the freshness of cucumbers during long military campaigns.
Spines on young cucumbers serve to remove excess moisture from their fetus.
In Europe, where smooth cucumbers without spines are honored, thorny fruits are called “Russian cucumbers”.
Cucumbers are mentioned in the Bible.
The ancient Egyptians put cucumbers in their graves to their pharaohs along with other valuable gifts.
The first greenhouses in the history for the year-round cultivation of cucumbers were built in Ancient Rome for Emperor Tiberius, who wished to eat these vegetables every day.
In Russia, cucumbers are common since the 16th century.
In the Russian city of Nezhin there is a cucumber monument.
