Bitterness in Cucumbers - Bitter Cucumber

Many home gardeners have had the experience of slicing a fresh, crisp, green cucumber only to find the flesh so bitter that it had to be discarded. Occasionally bitter cucumbers are purchased unknowingly. The problem of bitter cucumbers seems to be especially prevalent in certain years in some areas of the Pacific Northwest. Interestingly there appear to be some people who are unable to taste the bitter principle in cucurbits.

Prepared by D.R. Bienz, Ph.D., Professor of Horticulture, and R.E. Thornton, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist, Washington State University, Pullman.

Issued by Washington State University Cooperative Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in furtherance of the Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Cooperative Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Cooperative Extension office. Reprinted August 1989. Subject code 270. A