Jeff, the A.D.D. Chef

“A what?” That was my reaction the first time I read a list of ingredients that included a seeded cucumber. A seeded cucumber is a cucumber that had its seeds removed. Why would you do that? First, for aesthetic reasons. Raw seeded cucumbers just “look interesting” sitting next to the other raw vegetables on your appetizer tray.¹ The second and more important reason for seeding a cucumber is for creating Tzatziki sauce which is usually served with souvlaki and gyros. It also makes a great dip for raw vegetables.

THE METHOD

1. Start with a peeled cucumber.
   
2. Slice the cucumber in half.
   
3. Take a melon baller (a tablespoon would work too) and gently scrape out the seeds. If you use a melon baller, use the smallest amount of pressure as you scrape out the seeds so that you don’t accidentally split the cucumber.
   
4. Your seeded cucumber should look something like this:
   
5. It’s really that simple. When we get to the Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki sauce, then you’ll know why you need to remove the cucumber seeds.

Tzatziki and Cucumber Trivia

1. Wikipedia on Tzatziki
2. Making Tzatziki
3. Wikipedia on Cucumbers
4. A (very small) tribute to my last homegrown cucumber for 2007

1. It also shows you may have too much time on your hands if you are removing seeds from your cucumbers. [↩]