ANSWERS: 1
  • 1) "There appears to be variability in the human olfactory response to cucumbers, with the majority of people reporting a mild, almost watery flavor or a light melon taste, while a small but vocal minority report a highly repugnant taste, some say almost perfume-like. The presence of the organic compound phenylthiocarbamide is believed to cause the bitter taste." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucumber 2) "In conclusion, burpiness experienced by people eating cucumbers is slightly affected by the cultivar type, and by the susceptibility of the person." "Additional research is needed on cucumbers of all types to identify cultivars that are free of burping for susceptible judges, and to identify the compound responsible for the burping effect." Source and further information: "What are burpless cucumbers?" http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/wehner/articles/art090.pdf Further information: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collections/healthy_cucumber_recipes.html http://blog.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/2008/02/14/do-cucumbers-make-you-burp/ http://qna.live.com/ShowQuestion.aspx?qid=395E5A5A572A4418A41BAF5623D859B0 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2040878/Thin-skinned-cucumbers-could-reduce-burps.html http://zoneonegarden.blogspot.com/2007/08/burpless-or-fartless-cucumbers.html 3) "The Bitter Truth Built-in bitterness. Most cucumber plants contain compounds known as cucurbitacins ("kyew-ker-BIT-a-sins") that cause fruit to taste bitter. At low levels, you aren't likely to detect them. But high levels of cucurbitacins produce extremely bitter fruit- so bitter that eating it would cause a riot in your stomach. Cucurbitacin levels increase when a plant is under stress. Your mileage may vary. The concentration of these compounds varies from plant to plant, fruit to fruit, and even within the individual fruit itself. The ability to taste cucurbitacins also varies from person to person. Even insects have varying preferences for cucurbitacins- the compounds attract cucumber beetles but repel other insects, such as aphids and spider mites. An antibitterness gene. Cucurbitacins are found in most cucurbits, but some cucumber varieties possess a gene that inhibits their formation. "The bi gene causes the entire plant to be bitterfree," notes Todd C. Wehner, Ph.D., professor of horticultural science and plant breeder at North Carolina State University. "Bitterfree plants always produce bitterfree fruit, even under stress conditions," he adds. Bitterfree types. Varieties that possess the recessive bi gene include European and Dutch greenhouse cucumbers- those long, very slender, seedless specimens typically sold shrink-wrapped with plastic to protect their thin skins. 'Marketmore 97', a vining slicer variety, also has the bitterfree gene. Burpless cucumbers. What makes a cucumber "burpless" is open to debate. Some researchers have suggested that a burpless cucumber contains less of a burp-causing compound; some say it's the seeds that cause people to burp, and therefore the English/Dutch long hothouse-type cucumbers are also burpless. Sometimes burpless is used as a marketing term for Asian varieties of cucumbers. Burpless varieties include those two categories plus varieties like 'Tasty Green', 'Sweet Success', and 'Big Burpless Hybrid'. Although burpless varieties are bred to produce fewer cucurbitacins, they don't have the gene that would make them bitterfree, so they could produce more cucurbitacins if growing conditions become unfavorable." Source and further information: http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s-5-16-1576,00.html

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