If you’re tired of growing or eating the same old green cucumbers,
you’ll be pleased to hear that there is actually an alternative – albino
cucumbers.
As their name suggests, these heirloom cucumbers are a bright white,
even though the stalks they grow on have a common dark green foliage.
Albino cucumbers don’t simply occur as an anomaly, although that may
have been the case with the first such specimen. They are actually a
slowly developed variety of cucumber that dates back to the 1893, when
the Burpee seed company featured it in its famous catalog for the first
time. It had been sent in by a customer in 1890, and Burpee spent the
next three years breeding and evaluating the plant before launching it
commercially.
|
|
Over the last century, albino cucumbers have become known under many
names, including “White Wonder”, “Ivory King,” “Jack Frost,” “Landreths
White Slicing” and “White Albino.”
|
|
According to Reimer Seeds, albino cucumbers are “exceptionally crisp and
very delicious without the bitter taste. Great for salads, pickles, or
gourmet dishes. It looks great in salads to adds extra color to gourmet
dishes. The tender white skins are so thin that they won’t even need
peeling. Great for making chips, spears, and whole pickles.”
|
|
Although not as common as their green cousins, white cucumbers are not
exactly considered rare. Seeds are widely available online, it’s just
that most people don’t even know they exist.
This isn’t the first strange-looking produce we’ve ever featured on
Oddity Central. You probably didn’t know a pink variety of pineapple
existed either? How about these black Dark Diamond Apples?
|