Even though we consider them vegetables, cucumber and zucchini are technically fruits…yes you heard it right. Cucumber and zucchini are two plants that are sometimes mistaken for one another but each has a unique personality and are used for a variety of dishes, from raita to pickles, cake to courgetti. Here's how to differentiate between the two.
What Is a Cucumber?
The cucumber is a vegetable that is grown all over the world and has a cylindrical form, dark green skin, and pale flesh. Cucumber plants, or Cucumis sativus in Latin, are members of the gourd family, often known as the Cucurbitaceae.
How Does Cucumber Taste?
Since cucumbers contain a lot of water, their flavour is mild and hardly sweet. The phrase "cool as a cucumber" refers to how crisp, cold, and energizing they are when eaten raw. Although cucumber skin has a more earthy flavour, many people choose to eat it because of the texture, flavour and health advantages. Cucumbers wilt when cooked yet retain a small crunch.
In foods like salads, sandwiches, and raita, cucumbers are virtually typically consumed raw. In addition to tomatoes, peppers, avocados, and red onions, cucumber salads frequently include an olive oil, vinegar, or lemon juice dressing. Except in a few Asian stir-fries, cucumbers are seldom ever cooked.
Cucumbers, though, are far more adaptable than that. They are occasionally added to drinks or infused into the water due to their cooling properties. Additionally, some cucumber species, such as gherkins, are raised specifically for pickling.
What Is a Zucchini?
At first glance, zucchini is sometimes mistaken for cucumbers since they are both cylindrical, dark green on the skin and pale on the interior. The two are related. The Cucurbita pepo species of gourd, which also includes pumpkins and squash, is what the zucchini plant belongs to.
Since zucchinis are a sort of summer squash, they are picked when they are still young, preserving their soft and delicious skin.
How Does Zucchini Taste?
The flavour of zucchini is moderate, somewhat sweet, a little bitter, and it has a rich texture. When cooked, zucchini's sweetness is more pronounced. Although zucchini is sensitive to bite through even when it is raw, cooking also helps to soften it.
The majority of the time, zucchini is cooked. Along with other vegetables including eggplant, peppers, pumpkin, squash, and potatoes, it is frequently roasted or baked. Ratatouille, fritters and stuffed baked zucchini are other well-liked meals. It may also be used to make sweets like carrot cake or banana bread.
Sometimes raw zucchini is used in salads or is julienned into strips as a low-carb substitute for spaghetti.
Cucumber vs Zucchini: The Difference
Because of their resemblance in appearance, cucumber and zucchini are frequently mistaken for one another. The primary distinctions are as follows:
Appearance: Although similar in size and colour to cucumbers, zucchini have woody stems at one end and occasionally a flower at the other. These are the female flowers of the plant, which develop into a big golden bloom and are occasionally consumed as well. Both the zucchini and the cucumber have seedy flesh when cut open, but the zucchinis have more of a creamy white colour. The cucumber's flesh has a faint green tint. In contrast to zucchini seeds, which are tiny and blend into the flesh, cucumber seeds are typically visible running down the centre of the fruit.
Touch: When compared to zucchini, which are warmer and yielding with a subtle grittiness beneath the fingertips, cucumbers are often rigid, waxy, and chilly to the touch. Although certain kinds, such as the tiny Lebanese cucumbers, have smooth skin, the majority of cucumbers have a rough texture.
Taste: It's almost probably a cucumber if it's chilly and crunchy.
Use: It's probably a zucchini if it's been cooked in a meal; cucumbers are often eaten raw or pickled.
Plants: In a vegetable patch, tell a cucumber from zucchini by their growth patterns. Both feature huge, heart-shaped leaves, but whereas cucumbers dangle from their stalks like grapes on a vine, zucchini stick out from the plant.
Conclusion
Cucumber and zucchini are both members of the gourd family. The primary distinction between cucumber and zucchini is that cucumber has a watery flavour from its high-water content, whereas zucchini has a sweet flavour.
