Good eating, and therapeutic, too

I have no breakthrough news about cucumbers. They aren’t exactly the new Wonder Food but, you know, not every food has to be the ultimate cancer fighter and elixir of long life. Cucumbers are beneficial and they taste good and they’re cool and refreshing in summer, and sometimes that’s all a vegetable really needs to do.

One thing that is interesting about cucumbers, though, is they are good for you when you eat them (good enough,at least) and they can also be used topically, to reduce swelling, because they have something in them called caffeic acid. You can put them on your eyes when they’re puffy; or you can lay some slices on a sunburn to help reduce the inflammation.

Cucumbers have some fiber in them (but not a ton) and bits of potassium, manganese, folate and vitamin A. They are most richly endowed with vitamin C, but still only provide about 20 percent of your recommended daily allotment.

They have a lot of water in them, though, and there are few healthy foods quite as nice as a cold crispy cucumber on a hot day. Of course, they are most popular in summer as a condiment, in the form of pickles.

Camp Isabella Freedman in Falls Village grows its own cucumbers and is just distributing the first of this summer’s crispy half sours to area stores. These are all-organic pickles made the old-fashioned pickle barrel way. They are relatively low in salt and have nothing else in them but garlic, dill and spices. And they have a very nice snap.

Cucumbers make an excellent cold soup, if you don’t mind investing some time in heating up the broth.

They are also an essential ingredient in Thai cuisine. I researched several recipes for authentic Thai cucumber salad, but found that I didn’t have most of the ingredients (fish sauce, red chili peppers). This one seems to include all the flavors that are so appealing in the Thai recipe, without all the extra shopping. It’s adapted from healthy-holistic-living.com.

                                                                        Thai-inspired cucumber salad

2 medium cucumbers; if you can, get the English cucumbers with a delicate skin and small seeds

1 shallot, peeled and cut into thin slices

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 cup of plain rice wine vinegar

1 dash of Tabasco or other hot sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Chop the cucumber into a small dice (if it’s not an English cucumber, you should peel it first and remove the seeds). Mix all the ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl, except the coriander. After the other ingredients have been tossed, add the coriander. Stir to coat. This salad will be most flavorful if you let it sit, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for a day or two. But of course it will be crispier if you eat it the same day you make it.