Just because a cucumber is listed as a pickling doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some slices! It just means that it is more popular to pickle gherkin and kirby cucumbers.
Pickling – These have thicker skins and are shorter.
- Gherkins – this cucumber is tiny (around two inches long) and is good for pickling.
- Kirby – this type is short with bumps and is an excellent choice for pickling or eating raw.
Slicing – these have thinner skins and are longer.
- Armenian/Middle Eastern – This type is long and thin with soft skin and seeds which is not good for pickling but is great for eating raw. Even though Armenian cucumbers taste and look like cucumbers, they are actually muskmelons.
- English – This cucumber is long (up to 14 inches) and thin with dark green skin and is considered seedless and burpless.
- Garden – this type has smooth dark green skin with larger seeds. The skin can be more bitter than other varieties.
- Japanese/Asian – This type has a sweeter flavor. These cucumbers are slender and grow up to 18 inches long.
- Persian – this type has a milder flavor and thin skin. Â While they can grow long, they are at their prime at about 6 inches long. Also, they are crunchy and firm (less watery). They are almost seedless and are considered burpless.
- Specialty – this type of cucumber is known for unique shapes so it needs its own category.
Check out the fruit category of vegetables and the cucurbit plant family which include cucumbers.
