Cucumbers
Tulare County Office of Education
Reasons to Eat Cucumbers
A ½ cup of cucumbers provides:
• A good source of vitamin K
• A source of water, a vital nutrient
for the body.
½ cup is the size of a light
bulb or one cupped handful
H2O
Water is an essential nutrient for all life forms.
H2O
Approximately 60-65% of
the human body is made
up of water.
H2O
Every cell, tissue, and organ and
nearly every bodily function needs
water to operate.
H2O
You can meet your daily water requirements
from foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as
plain water and other beverages.
How Do Cucumbers Grow?
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Plants need flowers to produce fruit.
Female flowers have parts called a pistil.
Male flowers have parts called a stamen.
Stamens produce pollen and the pistil contains
the seeds.
How Do Cucumbers Grow?
The cucumber plant can have both
male and female flower parts.
This is called a mon-o-e-cious plant.
How Do Cucumbers Grow?
Outdoor cucumbers are monoecious.
When the female flower is pollinated, the
cucumbers will have seeds.
How Do Cucumbers Grow?
Cucumbers grown inside greenhouses are
usually par-then-o-car-pic. This means the
plants only have female flowers and
do not need pollination.
These cucumbers will have no seeds.
What is Pollination?
When insects like bees visit
flowers, the pollen inside the
flower sticks to their hairy legs.
When they visit another flower
the pollen rubs off on the
flower’s stigma.
This is called pollination. After
pollination, fruit develops.
A Slice of Cucumber History
Cucumbers were first known to have been
grown in India 3,000 years ago.
A Slice of Cucumber History
Columbus transported cucumbers to
North America from Spain in
the early 16th century.
A Slice of Cucumber History
European trappers, hunters, and explorers
traded cucumbers for squash, pumpkins,
and gourds with native tribes of the Great
Plains and Rocky Mountains.
Is it a Pickle or a Cucumber?
The cucumber species is divided into
two categories: slicing and pickling.
Slicing cucumbers are usually served
raw in salads, sandwiches, and snacks.
Is it a Pickle or a Cucumber?
Pickling cucumbers are
developed specifically for the
pickling process.
They are generally smaller than
slicing cucumbers with a thick,
bumpy skin.
Just the Facts
There are over 800 species in the Cucurbitaceae
family and they include cucumbers, gourds,
melons, pumpkins, and squashes.
The inside of a cucumber can be up to 20
degrees cooler than the exterior.
Get Your Brain On
1. Fruits and vegetables are a source of water.
True
2. How much of the human body is made up of water?
60-65%
3. Plants need ______ and bees to produce fruit.
Flowers
4. Cucumbers grown in a greenhouse will have no _____.
Seeds
5. What are the two types of cucumbers?
Slicing and pickling
Tasting Trio
Cool Cucumber Cuties
Ingredients:
2 whole cucumbers
2 sleeves whole-wheat crackers
1 oz. lemon-pepper seasoning
Preparation:
1. Wash each cucumber and slice into 36 coins.
2. Build your Cucumber Cuties by stacking a
cucumber coin on top of one cracker.
3. Sprinkle the seasoning on top of the
cucumbers.
Cucumber Cuties
HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS RECIPE
Loved it
It was okay
Didn’t like it
I sure like cucumbers!
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provider and employer. Visit www.CaChampionsForChange.net for healthy tips. •California
Department of Public Health