easy, fresh cucumber salad to spice up any meal

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A hot summer day cries out for the perfect side dish – the fresh and cool cucumber salad.

In our meat-heavy household, I love using this cucumber salad recipe to cut through the richness of any meat dish. The tanginess of this side dish is perfect for any heavy meal that needs a sharp palate cleanser.

Neither overwhelmingly sweet or sour, this is sure to be a crowd favorite with the whole family.

why use this cucumber salad recipe?

things to consider

This cucumber salad recipe is extremely simple and easy to make, but there are a few things to consider before making this side dish.

how long before serving should this dish be made?

The longer the flavors get to meld, the better! But of course there’s an upper limit to this meld.

I recommend making this at least 3 hours before serving and allow it to chill and meld in the fridge. Taste test the salad halfway to your meal and adjust to your taste if need be. Serve it straight from the fridge.

If you’re serving up a large helping of cucumber salad (more than a couple of pounds), I recommend taking it out of the fridge and mixing it every hour before serving. This way, the vinegar can thoroughly coat and be soaked up by the cucumbers.

the recipe really only calls for this little bit of vinegar?

It does seem like the amount of vinegar called for is too little to properly cover the cucumbers. That’s ok!

As the ingredients meld together, the vinegar will mix with the cucumber water and offset a good bit of the bite from the vinegar. This makes the dish much more palatable without having to add extra water or reduce the vinegar.

Mix the ingredients together really well to make sure the cucumbers are properly covered.

should the cucumbers be peeled or can the skin be left on?

I recommend peeling the cucumbers even with how crunchy and satisfying the peel can be.

To preserve produce, the peel of many fruits and veggies are covered in wax and other substances to maintain freshness during transport and while they sit on grocery store shelves.

How well can soap and water remove those substances? I don’t know how effective any cleaning product is at removing this, purportedly edible, wax so I opt to remove the peel.

how many cucumbers should I use?

I found that 5.5 pounds of unpeeled cucumbers make for 4.1 pounds of peeled and chopped cucumbers. This recipe calls for 1 pound of cucumbers to start with.

I recommend weighing your peeled and cut cucumbers and adjust the other ingredients based on the 1 pound recipe.

can I use red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, etc. instead of white vinegar?

Yep! You are only limited by what you prefer, but stick to vinegars to stay true to this recipe.

can I chop up the cucumbers instead of slicing them?

You certainly can but we don’t prefer them that way. Slicing them provides an easier way of scooping them up on your fork and provides for nicer consistency of the salad.

the tools

the edible supplies

To get started making this recipe, you’ll first want to gather all your ingredients.

the steps

Step 1: Rinse and peel your cucumbers

Don’t forget to compost your peels and ends or feed them to your livestock.

Step 2: Thinly slice the cucumbers on the mandolin. Be careful with the sharp blades! Once the cucumber is down to 1 inch or so, I cut it manually to avoid slicing a finger on the mandolin blade.

Step 3: Measure the weight of the sliced cucumbers. You will adjust the other ingredients to meet the same ratio as to the 1 pound of sliced cucumbers.

Step 4: Add the other ingredients and mix well.

Step 5: Store in an airtight glass container and put in the fridge to chill for your meal.

Serve once chilled for three hours. You can taste test before serving and adjust the salt, sugar, and vinegar to your liking.

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Here are some of the supplies that I used when making this recipe!

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easy, fresh, tangy cucumber salad

A hot summer day cries out for the perfect side dish – the fresh and cool cucumber salad. It's a lovely palate cleanser cutting through rich or heavy meals.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Total Time:3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Equipment

• mandolin to slice the cucumbers you can use a knife but it’s less efficient
• mixing bowl
• food scale
• peeler
• measuring spoons
• cutting board
• knife
• glass container to store the cucumber salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound thinly sliced cucumbers
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2.5 tablespoons white vinegar use any type of vinegar
• 0.5 teaspoon dill

Instructions

• Rinse and peel your cucumbers
• Thinly slice the cucumbers on the mandolin.
• Measure the weight of the sliced cucumbers. You will adjust the other ingredients to meet the same ratio as to the 1 pound of sliced cucumbers.
• Add the other ingredients and mix well.
• Store in an airtight glass container and put in the fridge to chill for your meal.

Notes

I recommend making this at least 3 hours before serving and allow it to chill and meld in the fridge. Taste test the salad halfway to your meal and adjust to your taste if need be. Serve it straight from the fridge.

I recommend peeling the cucumbers even with how crunchy and satisfying the peel can be.

To preserve produce, the peel of many fruits and veggies are covered in wax and other substances to maintain freshness during transport and while they sit on grocery store shelves.

I recommend weighing your peeled and cut cucumbers and adjust the other ingredients based on the 1 pound recipe.