Tag Archives: Cucumber

26 Mar

Best Cucumbers for Cucumber Juice and How to Choose Them

Cucumbers are grown and enjoyed all over the world. Some cultures grow them specifically for pickling. Varieties like Kekiri, Dosakai are generally used for curry. Some varieties are intended to be eaten with the skin. They come in a variety of shapes, from short and round cucumbers to cucumbers up to two-feet long. The best cucumbers for juicing are those that fall into the “slicing” rather than the “pickling” category.

While slicing varieties have subtle differences in taste, all have a sweet, slightly grassy flavor that adds light, refreshing flavor to juices. When it comes to choosing the best cucumbers for juicing, the skin matters. Once they’re harvested, cucumbers begin to lose moisture, so commercial growers breed varieties with thick skins that extend shelf life. While a juicer may be able to handle the skin, thick skins have a bitter taste.

English Cucumbers

The variety most often sold in supermarkets, commercially grown English cucumbers are usually cultivated in hothouses. As they are not pollinated, seeds are small and undeveloped. In the garden, English cucumbers have a thin skin, but growers favor hybrids with thicker skins to protect them in shipping. In the market, English cucumbers wrapped in plastic can sometimes, but not always, indicated a thinner skin. Their ready availability, sweet taste and minimal seeds may make English Cucumbers the best cucumbers for juicing.

Other Slicing Varieties

With a few variations, Japanese, Persian, Armenian and Lebanese cucumbers are similar to English cucumbers in taste and are available in farmer’s markets and some supermarkets.

best cucumbers for juicing

Cucumber Shopping Tips

Like many other vegetables, cucumbers are best picked and eaten when young. Shop for slender, firm cucumbers with bright color. Avoid those with any soft spots. In supermarkets, unwrapped cucumbers are likely waxed. Wax can be detected by gently scraping a fingernail over the cucumber. If properly washed, waxed cucumbers are fine for use in a juicer.

Although the global marketplace means that cucumbers are widely available the year round, locally-grown cucumbers come into season during the summer. They should be stored unwashed and wrapped in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for no more than a week before using.

Juicing Preparation For Cucumbers

Some cucumber varieties are advertised as “burpless.” Cucumbers have a chemical compound underneath the skin that causes some people to burp. By deeply peeling the cucumber and removing the ends, you may be able to avoid this unpleasant side effect.

16 Mar

Cucumber Juice Side Effects – Can You Drink Too Much Of It?

Cucumber juice side effects are nonexistent. There are no negative cucumber juice side effects. The human body is easily able to absorb only the vitamins and nutrients it needs from cucumbers and cucumber juice. The body is just as able to then get rid of what it does not need from excess of it.

If cucumber juice quenches one’s thirst, drink up! It is very healthy, refreshing and a great way to cleanse one’s palate. Cucumber juice is also a great topical treatment for skin as well. It is safe to enjoy as much cucumber juice as you desire.

Cucumbers

30 Jan

Which Fruit Contains The Most Water?

What is Water

Water is a chemcial substance that is vital for the existance of every form of life. The chemical compostion of water is one oxygen atom and two atoms of hydrogen per molecule. The surface of the earth is 70% water. We must have fresh, safe drinking water to survive and 70% of the fresh water we have is used for agriculture.

Water in Our Body – Why Is It Important?

Two-thirds of the human body is made up of water. Some of the more vital organs in the body contain even more – 95% in the brain, 82% in the blood, and 90% in the lungs. Even with as little as a 2% drop of water in the body, dehydration can begin. Here are just a few of the things water does for our bodies.

  • It acts a lubricant
  • It makes up the fluids for the joints
  • It controls our body temperature
  • It is the foundation of saliva
  • It helps to move food through the intestines to help our bodies eliminate waste.
  • It helps regulating the metabolism
  • It helps prevent disease.

The water in our bodies is not replenished on its own so it is necessary to drink plenty of water to keep up a good balance. The common recommendation is eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, spread out throughout the day. When thirsty, you should drink twice as much water as it takes to quench that thirst. Without enough water, dehydration can set in which can make mental processes harder, decrease energy, and increase body stress.

It is possible to drink too much water, which results in a condition called water intoxication. While not common, it can happen occasionally. When there is too much water in the body, the result can be low electrolytes that can cause an irregular heartbeat and swelling in the brain, which can result seizures and coma. But it is unlikely to get water intoxication even if you drink an excess amount of water as long as the water is consumed over a long period of time.

Cucumbers

Top Fruits For Water Content

The amounts of Water are given for 100g of each fruit.

1 Cucumber 95,20 g
2 Tomato 94,80 g
3 Blackcurrant 91,80 g
4 Pumpkin 91,60 g
5 Watermelon 91,50 g
6 Strawberry 90,90 g
7 Carrot 90,40 g
8 Melon (Cantaloupe) 90,20 g
9 Lemon 89,00 g
10 Peach 88,90 g
11 Papaya 88,80 g
12 Pear 88,30 g
13 Lime 88,30 g
14 Grapefruit 88,10 g
15 Blackberry 88,10 g
16 Gooseberry 87,90 g
17 Mulberry 87,70 g
18 Plum 87,20 g
19 Cranberry 87,10 g
20 Orange 86,70 g
21 Apricot 86,40 g
22 Pineapple 86,00 g
23 Raspberry 85,70 g
24 Apple 85,60 g
25 Passion Fruit 85,60 g
26 Tangerine 85,20 g
27 Blueberry 84,20 g
28 Redcurrant 83,90 g
29 Kiwi 83,10 g
30 Cherry (sweet) 82,20 g
31 Lychee 81,80 g
32 Mango 81,70 g
33 Grape 81,30 g
34 Mangosteen 80,90 g
35 Guava 80,80 g
36 Elderberry 79,80 g
37 Fig 79,10 g
38 Pomegranate 77,90 g
39 Banana 74,90 g
40 Durian 65,00 g
41 Jackfruit 20,50 g

27 Jan

Cucumber Nutrition Facts

Cucumber Nutrition Facts

Betaine 0,1 mg
Calcium 16 mg
Calories 15 Calories
Carbohydrate 3,6 g
Carotene-a 0 mcg
Carotene-ß 46 mcg
Choline 6 mg
Copper 0,04 mg
Dietary Fiber 0,5 g
Fluoride 0 mcg
Folate 7 mcg
Iron 0,29 mg
Lutein-zeaxanthin 23,9 mcg
Lycopene  mcg
Magnesium 13 mg
Manganese 0,08 mg
Niacine 0,19 mg
Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) 140 µ mol TE
Pantothenic Acid 0,27 mg
Phosphorus 24,9 mg
Phytonutrients 94 mcg
Potassium 147 mg
Protein 0,68 g
Pyridoxine Vit. B6 0,04 mg
Riboflavin Vit. B2 0,03 mg
Selenium 0,3 mcg
Sodium 2 mg
Sugar 1,7 g
Thiamine 0,027 mg
Total Fat 0,11 g
Vitamin A 105 IU
Vitamin B6 0,04 mg
Vitamin C 2,8 mg
Vitamin E 0 mg
Vitamin K 16,4 mcg
Water 95,2 g
Zinc 0,2 mg

01 Dec

Health Benefits Of Cucumber Juice: A Delicious Cooler That Keeps Your Body In Balance

A lot of people like cucumbers for their fresh crispy taste that is light, never overpowering, yet delightful and satisfying. The juice of the cucumber leverages that same light taste for a refreshing beverage. Most people think cucumbers are merely 95% water — and they are — but what’s astonishing about it are the enormous health benefits of cucumber juice delivered by this “watery” vegetable product.  (Note: technically, cucumbers are classified as a fruit, although for legal and tax reasons, government regulations consider cucumbers a vegetable).

Whatever you want to call a cucumber, the science is undeniable that drinking cucumber juice is not only healthy, but the payback it supplies to the human body is far reaching. Let’s check off some of the main known health benefits of cucumber juice:

Cucumbers

Cucumbers Juice Regulates Ph Of Your Blood

Human blood Ph must be maintained within a narrow range to be considered healthy. The optimum Ph level of blood is between 7.35 and 7.45. This makes our blood just slightly alkaline. If the blood goes below 7.35 is becomes to acidic, which can lead to problems. Cucumbers juice contains minerals that increase alkalinity or reduce acid levels in the blood, and therefore the body. So cucumber juice is an excellent blood balancer, especially for people with acid-related problems. Cucumber juice also helps regulate normal blood pressure.

Connective Tissues

The bones in our body are connected to muscle by something called connective tissues. People with arthritis, for example, are suffering from a deterioration of their connective tissue. Cucumber juice is a natural source of silica, which is an integral element in building and maintaining healthy connective tissue.

Cool Off, Ever From A Fever

Everybody knows that drinking something cool when you’re hot is a way to cool off. Chilled cucumber juice is good for this, but not only because the temperature of the drink is cool. Enzymes found in cucumber juice help balance the electrolytes in the body, which help regulate a natural temperature for the body in hot weather. Note that this also makes cucumber juice an excellent choice for treating a fever.

Elimination and Cleansing

Health benefits of cucumber juice are also the result of its mild, natural diuretic effect – that is, it will make you need to go the bathroom slightly more often, as does coffee and other caffeinated drinks. But cucumber juice is not as powerful a diuretic as coffee and colas, and not harshly acidic like those drinks. It’s a gentle diuretic, which makes you go more, and helps you eliminate toxic substances from your body.

Health benefits of cucumbers
Hair Growth

Are you ready for this one? Cucumber juice to help grow hair? Well, if you are already bald or balding, drinking cucumber juice will not bring back the flowing locks of your youth. However, the specific mineral content of cucumber juice promotes healthy hair growth, and can help you keep what you have, while also making your hair look more healthy, thick and lustrous.

Healthy Skin

People with skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, or just dry flakey skin can see a tremendous benefit from cucumber juice because it is high in Vitamin C, but also a range of other antioxidants that our skins needs to retain healthy cell growth and a normal balance. Note that diseases such as arthritis are often linked to psoriasis, and that we have already seen that cucumber juice helps maintain healthy connective tissue.

Sun Burns

Speaking of skin, applying cucumber juice to a sun burn is a fantastic cooler to inflamed skin, and will have a healing effect on sun burned skin.

Health Benefits Of Cucumber Juice Come From A Long List Of Nutrients

How does cucumber juice get all of the above done? When you look at the list of nutrients in cucumber juice, it becomes obvious that it’s jam-packed with healthy stuff, including: Vitamin C and A, folate, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, silica and sulfur. It also has smaller amounts of Vitamin B, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and clorine. Try getting that in a diet soda!

The power of cucumber juice can be magnified if you mix it with other vegetable juices, especially carrot juice and celery juice. This also helps you find a flavor of beverage that more suits your individual taste.

Finally, strive to buy cucumbers and cucumber juice that is certified organic, and grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides. That means growing your own (which is easy and fun to do), or buying from farmer’s markets or other trusted organic producers. Making your own juice is also a snap if you own a juicer, or even a blender in is the best way the get the most health benefits of cucumber juice.