# Do you dislike the flavour of fresh cucumbers? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 16, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744 "2020-11-16T21:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/41 "2020-11-17T16:19:33Z")
I don’t think I can. I’m a fairly picky eater, and was extreme as a kid, but while I’ve gotten over a lot of my dislikes, at least to the extent that I don’t go “yeah, I’m not eating that”, cucumbers are still on my hate list. I don’t like the taste when it comes straight from a crunchy piece of cucumber, I don’t like it when it’s lingering in a salad after I’ve picked out all the bits, but I can cope with it, and I don’t like it in tzatziki, which is sad cause I sort of want to like tzatziki. I don’t recognize your description of them at all, so it’s not that. In fact I can sort of see why people consider it a “fresh” and “clean” taste, but to me it’s just “blech, cucumber”. I do also associate it slightly with watermelon, which I don’t much care for either, but I couldn’t say exactly what it is they have in common, other than being disturbingly close to water. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/42 "2020-11-17T16:35:37Z")
Some salt helps. Unless pickled, they just add moisture to a dish - not much flavour. I’ve seen the “old joke” above attributed to Sydney Smith and Samuel Johnson. Not much to like or dislike. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/43 "2020-11-17T16:41:56Z")
My father used to tell a similar joke about foods he wasn’t keen on. Basically: soak it in vinegar for 12 hours and then throw it in the dustbin (trashcan in USA-speak). Actually with cucumbers though, a vinegar treatment might improve them… I quite like an occasional pickle… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/44 "2020-11-17T18:08:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > You’re the first person to respond who might actually have something relevant to my original question. Please can you try to describe it by comparison to something else that isn’t a cucumber? So my saying that’s it’s very difficult to compare most flavors doesn’t count, but his saying that cucumbers taste like cucumbers does, huh? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/45 "2020-11-17T18:58:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > e.g. potato salad tastes like potatoes & mayo but potato salad with a smidgen of cucumber tastes like CUCUMBERS!!!, potatoes & mayo. Ditto cucumbers in a sandwich, a lettuce salad, etc. Actually, I agree with you about everything except lettuce salad, as I already mentioned. Potato salad should be mellow. The dominant taste should be potato, with maybe a hint of egg, and the tang of mayo and other mild herbs or spices. Putting anything like cucumber into it (or much worse, chopped pickle) is heresy! > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m much the same with red onions, although unlike cukes those are strongly flavored. First you disparage cucumbers, and now red onions! 😉 From your other posts in CS you seem to have excellent culinary tastes and standards, so I’m at a loss to account for these particular gastronomical failings. Here are the correct facts, according to me. 😀 White onions are mostly useful for cooking, and need to be sauteed in olive oil, but they are mandatory in raw form on hamburgers and (optionally) hot dogs. Red onions are to be served raw as basically a garnish that is excellent in many sandwiches such as smoked turkey (or sliced grilled chicken breast) with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and are a nice touch when scattered over certain foods, like a plate of burritos, salsa, and sour cream. Incidentally, I’ve never found cucumbers to have the kind of taste that I would ever describe as “bitter”, and I don’t peel them. Their contribution to salads is a combination of crunchy texture and what I would describe as a delicate fresh flavor, the flavor hinted at by the delicate garden-fresh aroma when they’re freshly sliced. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/46 "2020-11-17T19:19:35Z")
Russians slice them lengthwise and salt the spears. At least, that’s how I learned to eat them. Salty cucumbers are really good. I’ve known people who salt watermelon as well. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/47 "2020-11-17T20:37:52Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > First you disparage cucumbers, and now red onions! 😉 From your other posts in CS you seem to have excellent culinary tastes and standards, so I’m at a loss to account for these particular gastronomical failings. Just to get all my culinary failings in the open, radishes are inedible little balls of nasty too. But those 3 are about it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/48 "2020-11-17T20:43:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Just to get all my culinary failings in the open, radishes are inedible little balls of nasty too. That’s not a failing, it’s completely accurate! The only use I can think of for radishes is as ammo for slingshots. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/49 "2020-11-17T20:46:13Z")
Maybe I’m weird, but I _like_ the taste of radishes (raw, perhaps doused in lemon juice and sprinkled with pepper and salt; they have a nice sharpness to them), don’t mind the taste of cucumbers (fairly neutral tasting but with a nice crunch) but don’t think I can distinguish red onion from white onion. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/50 "2020-11-17T20:50:29Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The only use I can think of for radishes is as ammo for slingshots. 😀 You’ve obviously never played softball with a red onion! 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/51 "2020-11-17T21:07:43Z")
I’ve never liked them except as pickles, or I can tolerate them mixed with something strong tasting like tzatziki or the peanut/ginger/soy mix of cold sesame noodles. The unpleasant taste to me is a bit like soap rather than stale or leathery. I do get a similar soap taste from watermelon. A slightly bitter chemical inedible flavor. When cucumber soaps and wet wipes became popular, my first reaction was “Well, cucumber tastes like soap anyway!” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/52 "2020-11-17T21:09:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So my saying that’s it’s very difficult to compare most flavors doesn’t count, but his saying that cucumbers taste like cucumbers does, huh? I’m not kidding when I say it tastes like the scent of musty old books to me - I feel like you already described your dislike to the best of your capacity, whereas **naita** just said ‘foul’, which did sound like it might have a chance of unpacking to the same perception as mine. ---
**Author:** ![RollOutTheBarrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rolloutthebarrel/32/1649_2.png) [@RollOutTheBarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RollOutTheBarrel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/53 "2020-11-17T21:12:11Z")
Cucumbers have a very strong, bitter taste to me. It doesn’t remind me of leather or old books, though. I guess the closest smell for me would be grass, except much stronger and more bitter. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/54 "2020-11-17T21:16:09Z")
Several years back I got a food dehydrator and went on a binge of dehydrating just about everything that came out of the garden. For the most part it was a success. Then I tried dehydrating cucumbers. Smelled awful, tasted even worse. It was like smelling and eating dried grass. Just don’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/55 "2020-11-17T21:23:28Z")
Interestingly, I tried dehydrating sweet pickle slices - they tasted like the sea ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/56 "2020-11-17T21:23:42Z")
I was wondering if the fact that some don’t like the taste of cucumbers was something like how cilantro tastes soapy to some people, meaning that it’s a matter of genetics. So I Googled. According to the pages I found, something called [phenylthiocarbamide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylthiocarbamide) is the cause. It’s either tasteless or tastes bitter, depending on your genetics. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/57 "2020-11-17T21:47:26Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’m not kidding when I say it tastes like the scent of musty old books to me … As one of the cucumber antis, I’ll add that my perception of them is utterly unlike leather or mustiness. Whatever their failings, they don’t have that taste to me at all. Also FTR ref @Dewey_Finn’s good find about genetics, I enjoy cilantro and don’t have the cilantro = soap perception at all. This whole thread is a fun unexpected disquisition through the variations in taste of a common food that really seems rather innocuous at first glance. Thanks for launching it. I hope we can shed some light onto your new-found perceptions. A totally different thought just popped up. This being the Year of the COVID, is it possible that your normal supply of cucumbers has been disrupted and you’re now getting a different cultivar grown in a different country with very different soils, fertilizers used, pesticide residues, etc.? Or maybe you’re now getting the extreme leftovers of last year’s (or two years’ ago!) crop normally sold as animal fodder. Obviously this is not a factor if they’re coming from your own garden, but store-bought everything has had a lot more perturbations this year than most. And at least around here they’ve been in no hurry to tell us much about how extensively they’ve had to rejigger their supply chains to keep the shelves stocked. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/58 "2020-11-17T22:05:22Z")
Whatever has changed here, I seem to be the only one experiencing it - my wife says she cannot detect anything unusual about the cucumbers we’re buying, but for me, the flavour is sufficiently strong and unpleasant that I can’t eat them even in a mixed salad. So there seem to be two options: 1. Cucumbers have changed in some way, and I alone, in all the world, can tell 2. Something has changed in me, but solely and specifically in relation to cucumbers Obviously option 2 seems the more likely, but honestly, they both seem a bit weirdly specific. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/59 "2020-11-17T22:34:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I am interested to know the views of people who dislike cucumbers specifically on account of their flavour. I was completely unaware that they had any. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Cucumber sandwiches are what you serve to the vicar when he comes for afternoon tea Or what you bring in a picnic hamper to the cricket match. We had a professor who got us playing cricket in our college’s central quad, and the first lesson was to learn to make a _propah cuke sandwich._ ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744/60 "2020-11-17T23:47:30Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Maybe I’m weird, but I _like_ the taste of radishes (raw, perhaps doused in lemon juice and sprinkled with pepper and salt; I’ve made radish sandwiches by thin-slicing the radishes and adding mayonnaise\*. But I don’t like horseradish; it makes me sneeze. \*By which I mean Miracle Whip, since I don’t like real mayo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-dislike-the-flavour-of-fresh-cucumbers-why/925744.md?page=4)