British cucumbers are to summer what grass is to Wimbledon.  They are in season, ripe and ready to be washed, then scoffed.  So be proud of British food standards and enjoy our national produce without any unnecessary concern.

I actually cannot bear going into another supermarket and seeing a mountain of unwanted cucumbers. Lying there. Unloved. Resembling the BFG's tasteless snozzcumber rather than the nations summer staple.  These aren't Spanish or German cucumbers either.  Nor are they the ones asphyxiated in sterile cellophane packaging. These are loose, wholesome, British cucumbers, which - thanks to the bad publicity wrongfully given to the salad product at the start of the E. coli crisis - are being shunned by the nation.  What is wrong with us?  This is our moment.  This is when we should be seen clutching our cucumbers as the stereotypical Frenchmen clutches his baguette. This is our vegetable. The produce that, alongside strawberries, epitomises the British summer.  What is Pimms or the triangular sandwich, the salad at the barbecue or the chilled summer soup, the dip or the crudités, without cucumber? 

This is one of those times we should bask in British bureaucracy and rejoice in our full traceability system.  In theory, should the E. coli outbreak have started in the UK, the cause would have been traced almost instantly.  Added to which, as Derek Hargreaves of the UK's Cucumber Growers' Association, affirms “from a horticulturist's point of view, it's extremely difficult to get E. coli into a cucumber, people don't spray slurry on to crops, even organic cucumbers. There are standards to follow and you're just not allowed to do that.”  There is nothing to fear when buying seasonal, regional and traceable British produce. The Food Standards Agency and the Government have confirmed that there is no danger from cucumbers, especially British ones.  Cucumbers in supermarkets should be labelled grown in UK and if you can't find them ask for them or buy them direct from source - from a pick-your-own or farm shop. Failing that purchase them from a Country Market or Farmer's Market and for peace of mind ascertain where they have been grown. 

As a nation, we have consumed the cucumber in its unadulterated form since the Middle Ages.  Over the centuries, we have tended to devour our fresh cucumbers in their natural form as opposed to pickling them or drowning them in a tomato-based salsa.  Cutting up a cucumber is never dull.  Depending on your mood you can cut it into circles or batons, chop it into quarters, slice it into the silkiest of slithers, or slice it down the middle, scoop out the seeds and serve as hollow semi-circles - perfect for dips.  It is equally delicious with or without its skin, or if you are feeling bold try creating a zebra effect with your vegetable peeler.  British cucumbers are always succulent, refreshing and practically calorie-less.  There is nothing as cool as a British cucumber.  So let's make June the month to consume as many as possible.

For information about British cucumbers visit the Cumber Growers Association
For information on how to source British fruit and vegetables in supermarkets [click here]
For information on Red Tractor traceability in fruit and vegetables [click here]
For an official summary of how safe British cucumbers are [click here]
For cucumber recipes [click here]

This month, The Sauce tests out Sorrel and Cucumber Soup from Seaweed and eat it by Fiona Houston and Xa Milne…

The Sauce

Sorrel and Cucumber Soup from Seaweed and eat it by Fiona Houston and Xa Milne

• What ingredients did you use and how readily available were they?
  Good handful of hand-picked, foraged sorrel leaves - washed, torn up and stems discarded. 
  1 British cucumber (washed) from local farm shop
  2 fat spring onions (washed) from local farm shop
  1 garlic clove - had in store cupboard
  2 pints of chicken stock - homemade and de-frosted from freezer
  150ml single cream, produced from local dairy and bought from farm shop.


• What was the sum total cost of this meal
  £0.19 - cucumber!!!!!
  £0.35 - bunch of spring onions
  £0.69 - single cream
  
  £1.13 in total.


• How many people did it actually feed?
  6 people


• How long did it take and how easy was it?
  It was unbelievably easy.  Chop all ingredients, bar the cream, and place in a pan with the stock and simmer until the cucumber and onions are soft – approx 10 minutes.  Then add the cream and leave to chill for an hour.  From start to consumption took 1 hour and 30 minutes.


• What did you do with the leftovers?
  There were none


• What did you and your guests think of the meal?
  So refreshing and thirst quenching.  Wonderful


• Would you cook it again?
  Absolutely, it was cheap and easy to make.  It is great because you can make it in advance.  A wonderful starter or as a light Summer lunch.  It also occurred to me that should you not be able to find sorrel you could replace it with lemon for the slightly bitter taste and some parsley to ensure that the soup retains a green hue.

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