These are the standard grocery store cucumbers. Most are waxed. Skin is thick and a little bitter so they are usually peeled and de-seeded.
Dark green, thin-skinned, mild flavor, about six inches long. Good raw or pickled. Tender enough to eat without peeling. Sold in cellophane packages at grocery stores. This is my favorite.
Available at the farmers market in the summer. Light green, very long and thin-skinned with small seeds. Crunchy and delicious.
Hard to find, these are 1—2 inches long and bumpy. These are best pickled. In France pickled gherkins are called cornichons.
These are the ones you find shrink wrapped in the market. Long, thin and dark green with thin skin and they are seedless. They do not need peeling. Crisp.
Available only at farmers markets, this cucumber looks like a lemon: round and yellow. Thin skin. Good for fresh eating.
Specialty cucumbers grown to become pickles and they look just like pickles. Find them at the Farmer’s Market in the fall. Short and bumpy. Crunchy and thin skinned. No need to peel.
Note: If you’re growing cucumbers you’ll find a lot of varieties in the seed catalogs (like Chinese Shoyu, Iznik, Korean, Kyuri Japanese, Italian Melone, Dragon’s Egg, Mexican Cucamelon). I recommend Beit Alpha, a Persian type developed in Israel for resistance to bitterness in hot, dry weather.
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