ripe cucumbers, anyone ever eat those?

[lululu]

I grew cucumbers in containers this year, and thought it was a fail. However, it turns out some were hiding, and long enough to get ripe, i.e. giant and yellow.

As far as I can tell from the web, these are not poisonous but may be bitter or something. Has anyone ever eaten these and/or made them into something edible?

[Purveyor]

1. Unless they are pickled, I don't touch a cucumber. Will 'burp' those suckers

for hours.

Love pickles though, especially kosher.

[LiberalAndProud]

2. Google 'big yellow cucumber recipes'

Looks like pickles for you, lululu.

[lululu]

3. like red spiced apple rings

I hope so, I love those red spiced apple rings and they don't seem to be sold in this part of the country.

http://www.thetreeofliberty.com/vb/showthread.php?158848-Great-recipe-for-Cucumbers-that-turn-yellow-and-big

Cucumber Spice Rings (can't tell they are not spiced apple rings)

2 gal. yellow cucumbers (doesn't matter how big they are)
2 cups pickling lime
3 cups cider vinegar
1 tsp Alum
1 bottle Red Food coloring
10 cups sugar
8 sticks cinnamon
2 packages (small) Red Hot Candy

Peel cukes and cut in half crosswise (or smaller sections if they are really large). Remove seeds with serrated spoon from each end then cut crosswise to resemble apple rings. Approx 1/4 inch thick.

Soak for 24 hours in 2 cups pickling lime and water to cover in crock or plastic bucket. Then drain and rinse.

Then simmer 1 1/2 hours in 1 cup vinegar, 1 tsp alum and 1 small bottle of red food coloring and water to cover. Then drain and rinse well in cold water.

Mix 2 cups vinegar, 10 cups sugar and 8 cinnamon sticks ( can use 4 tps ground cinnamon instead). Bring mixture to a boil and add 2 pkgs of Red Hots and stir until dissolved. Return drained cukes to crock and pour mixture over and let stand overnight.

Drain syrup into large pot. Pack rings into sterile jars. Heat syrup to boiling and pour into jars. Seal and turn upside down for 5 minutes or water bath for 15 minutes.

Tip: after rings have been soaked in alum handle carefully as they are crisp and can break. Yum Yum

[NJCher]

4. know what you mean

The very least you can get out of them is seeds. The best seeds come from very ripe fruit or vegetables.

You also might consider them for vegetable shakes. Mix withbuttermilk and an herb like dill, then refrigerate. Salt, pepper, voila, a nice, cold breakfast drink. (Cut seeds out first.)


Cher

[femmocrat]

5. As Cher said, save the seeds for next year.

They are easy to save. Just rinse them well and let them dry on a coffee filter. I save them in pill bottles from the pharmacy.

They aren't poisonous, but are probably bitter. I wouldn't make pickles from them; the little ones are best for that, IMO. And you can compost them!

[laundry_queen]

6. That happened to me.

last year. In a container. I grew a ginormous cuke from a 'pickle' variety that was lost in all the foliage and I missed it while picking the others. It was bigger than most zucchinis by the time I spotted it, LOL. Probably 2.5-3 inches in diameter.

It was delicious and mild and not bitter at all. We ate half of it by itself (cut into slices then quartered) and put the other half into a cucumber salad (I told you it was big, LOL)

I had a few this year too...I planted a few seeds that got overtaken by the beets and swiss chard. However, lo and behold, we were cleaning up the garden today (we had a light frost this last week and things are dying... ) and I found about 3 large-ish ones and 6 or so smaller ones. We'll see what they taste like when I make a salad tomorrow.