Drain cucumber: the best tips and tricks

For some cucumber dishes, it is advisable to drain the vegetables before processing. The liquid otherwise affects the consistency and taste of the finished meal. We show you here how you can drain a cucumber.

Drain the cucumber with salt

Cucumbers consist of about 96 percent water. On hot days, this is ideal for absorbing water, but it is unsuitable for preparing tsatsiki, for example. To remove the irritating water, you can salt the cucumber.

• Cut the cucumber into the shape you want.
• Mix the cucumber pieces with salt. As a guideline, you can count on a teaspoon of salt per cucumber.
• The longer you let the salt soak in, the more water the cucumber loses. We recommend a period of at least two hours.
• Put the cucumber pieces in a sieve and then let the water run out.
• If you want to achieve the best possible result, you can also wring out the cucumber pieces.
• Salt sparingly when preparing the dish. Also note that the process softens the cucumber.

Remove the water-rich interior of the cucumber

If you need the bite-resistant cucumber for a salad, we do not recommend salt treatment. Alternatively, you can scrape out the water-rich inner part of the vegetables.

• Much of the water is in the inner part of the cucumber. The outer layer is firmer and releases your liquid more slowly.
• Halve the cucumber lengthways.
• Scrape out the inside of the cucumber with a spoon. If you want to work cleaner, you can also use an apple cutter.
• Bring the cucumber into the right shape and enjoy the crunchy vegetables.

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