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Cucumber
Cucumbers are bitter near the skin. Peel thick and slice thin. Let stand in cold, or ice water without salt, as salt toughens them. Drain and serve on crushed ice. An onion sliced added to the cold water while standing improves the taste of the cucumber. They are often served together at table.
A method rather than a formula: the whole point is crisping sliced cucumber in unsalted ice water. Two of Mrs. Wilson's assumptions no longer hold, because the vegetable itself has changed.
- Bitterness and peelingThe bitterness she describes comes from cucurbitacins, concentrated in the skin and stem end. Modern slicing and English varieties have been bred largely free of it, so a thick peel is usually wasted; taste a slice from the stem end and peel heavily only if it is genuinely bitter.
- The salt questionSalt does not toughen cucumber, it draws water out by osmosis and makes the slices limp. That is why unsalted ice water is the right instruction here, and why salting is reserved for cucumbers you intend to wilt for a dressed salad.
- How long to soakNo time is given. Thirty minutes to an hour in ice water is enough to firm thin slices; much longer and they begin to waterlog and lose flavor.
- Slice thinThin means roughly 1/16 to 1/8 inch. A mandoline or the slicing side of a box grater gives the translucent slices this dish depends on; thick coins stay watery in the middle and never crisp.
- The onionThe recipe says only "an onion sliced." A mild sweet onion or a few shavings of shallot will sit more lightly in the water than a modern storage yellow onion, which can dominate it. Slice it paper-thin and remove it before serving unless you want it on the plate.
- Drain properlyLift the slices out and spread them on a towel for a minute rather than tipping the bowl. Water clinging to the slices dilutes whatever dressing, vinegar or salt goes on at table.
- Serving and yieldOne medium cucumber will serve about two as a side. Crushed ice under the slices, in a shallow glass or metal dish, is what she calls for and still works; chill the dish first so the ice does not flood the plate.