My Furry Cucumber!

This Spring I was fortunate to obtain some cucumber seeds from Mas Du Diable in a seed swap. The origins of this variety of cucumber are little known, but they are supposed to have been grown by one family in Bari, Italy for many generations. The old man in this family said that this variety had been handed down through the generations but he was afraid that he now had no-one in his family who were interested in keeping it going. Thus, these seeds were handed over.

It is believed to be from the genus cucumis melo - which is a cucumber which is more related to a melon, hence this furry jacket that you sometimes feel on melons.

After picking you just gently rub the furry jacket off under some water...

And you are left with a beautiful, pale, lunch-box sized cucumber.

That tastes wonderful! Mild, crispy and refreshing. The texture is just a little bit wetter and less dense than a usual cucumber - I can see where the close relationship to the melon family comes in here. So far, this is the only one on the plant this year. Fingers crossed for a couple more, they were delicious.