Nutrition

Cucumbers are a great source of vitamin K which is essential for blood clotting which is essential to wound healing when we hurt ourselves.

Shopping Guide

Pick the ones that are firm to touch and have a darker green colour for optimal crunch and freshness.

Storage

Keep in the fridge for up to a week, slice or chop just before eating. If you’ve got some cut cucumber leftover, wrap in some damp kitchen roll and use within a couple of days.

Preparation

Cucumbers are great raw and perfect in a salad. Try slicing cucumber and spring onions and add a dressing. You could have a go at making your own pickles by simmering equal parts water and vinegar (white vinegar or apple cider works best), a couple of tablespoons of salt, a pinch of sugar. Simmer for 10 mins, then pour over a jar filled with sliced cucumber, tightly seal the lid and leave to cool on the counter before keeping in the fridge – it will pickle and soften more over time.

Kids in the Kitchen

For a younger child, why not get them grating some cucumber with your help, and maybe mixing it into some yogurt with a pinch of salt or a little crumbled feta to make a simple tzatziki dip.

For an older child, it could be a great opportunity to teach some knife skills by slicing the cucumber lengthways using the bridge grip.

Find more ideas for involving kids in the kitchen here.

Sensory

Why not explore sound and hearing with cucumbers? Get a few cucumber sticks – some with skin and the soft middle cut out so they are “crunchier” and some without skin that are “softer”, and a few slices that might be a mix of both. Crunch them with your child and ask them to describe the level of noise (adding earphones to this can be a great way to amplify the sound). If they aren’t comfortable putting the cucumber in their mouth, they can snap them by their ear and describe what they hear.

Find more sensory ideas, tips and videos here. If you get stuck and need a little help with describing words, we have a selection for you here, too!

Serving

Next time you serve a meal featuring cucumber (especially if it’s something your child had a small hand in preparing), ask your child to design a beautiful menu for the table, with special emphasis on the cucumber (maybe it’s featured in an image or a funny play on words)…

Find the best ways of involving your own child and their skills and interests on our Roles for Kids page.

Activities

For cucumber, why not try “rubbing” the skin like you would with tree bark? Grab a piece of paper and wrap around the cucumber, then use crayons or colouring pencils to scribble gently over the paper until the cucumber skin pattern shows through?

Kids more interested in science? You can find more at-home science fun with veg with our videos from Stefan Gates’ here.

Find loads more free veg-themed crafts here and games here.