| Cucumber salad or Gurkensalat in German is a very simple and popular salad to make.
There are many variations on the recipes but they a re basically all similar even the ones from different countries.
First of all you are making a fresh pickle when you make this salad. (salat) The only difference is that you don't let it sit and ferment very long.
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Fresh pickles aid in digestion so they make a wonderful accompaniment for most any dish. Some cultures serve them with almost every meal.
If in a hurry I just slice them thin, sprinkle them with a little mild vinegar, touch of sugar or even splenda if watching calories, thin sliced purple onion, dill weed, salt and pepper and let them sit a bit. To make it richer add a tablespoon of good salad oil.
If I want to make the salad creamy I drain the salad and mix in a little sour cream or yogurt.
Marinated Cucumber Recipe
with step by step pictures
Aunt Aggies Cucumber salad recipe
donated by Carol Kupser
Marinated Cucumber Salad 2
Here are some more tips on making cucumber salad:
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Over Mature Cucumbers with too many seeds
These are over mature cucumbers and they have a pulpy center with tough seeds. These still are good. Peel the cucumber and cut in half lengthwise.
Scoop the pulp out with a spoon and then slice into half rings.
Salting the Cucumbers
This process makes the cucumbers crispier. Sometime if the cucumber is over mature and bitter it can draw out that bitter flavor.
After the cucumbers are sliced and in a bowl, add a 1 / 2 teaspoon of salt per cucumber and mix well. Let it sit for a hour if you can and then drain them in a colander. Rinse them with water to get the excess salt off them.
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Dressing for Cucumber Salad
there are hundreds of variations.
One thing you want to ask yourself first. How sweet do you like it.
If you like a real sour tangy dressing don’t add any sugar or honey.
If you like a sweet dressing you can add a bit at a time to find out how sweet you like it.
My grandmother liked to make a dressing that she used on her potato salad or cucumber salad
that was real simple to remember. It was
1 / 2 cup vinegar,
1 / 2 cup water
1 / 4 cup sugar.
2 Tabsp. Good Vegetable Oil
If you are watching calories you can leave out the oil. I often do. this was a very simple rule of thumb and it works well for a nice balanced sweet and sour taste.
Some people like it a bit sweeter so you could just add a bit more sugar.
To make a creamy cucumber salad:
To make the cucumber salad creamy as I said earlier I lift out the cucumbers from the marinade (so I can reuse the marinade) or drain them, Then mix in few tblsp of sour cream or cream or yogurt or a combination till you have enough to just coat t them. Beware of adding too much or they will be a gloppy mess. Some people add half sour cream and half mayonnaise or a salad dressing like “Miracle Whip”.
For the Seasoning:
I always add thin slices of purple onion if I have them, White onion or green works well also, as they taste nice and love the purple color.
add dill weed, and or fresh chopped parsley.
I have seen recipes in the German language that use herbs like chervil, lovage and borage in them. These herbs are not readily available in the states that I have seen, Chervil is an herb related to the carrot family often refereed to as the “gourmet parsley” it has a slight licorice flavor and is a bit peppery and ads a certain freshness to a dish .Borage is an herb also found in German recipes. It resembles the taste of cucumber so it is naturally a great accompaniment to this salad.
Celery seed is also a good addition.
Several people have asked how do I make my salads taste the way we had them in Germany.
Here are are a few spices that may help with that from the Germandeli.com
They are the best service for ordering German foods online.
Salat Krauter
"Krauter" in German means Herbs
I got to say that Alba is a company that has been around for years and years in the restaurant industry and noted for high quality. |
Salat mit Pfiff
This means ...Salad with a Kick
Maggi is another superstar in the seasoning world. |
Salat Krönung
Dill salad seasoning great for your cucumber salad
Krönung means "coronation" so I guess Knorr's line of salad seasonings are like coronating a salad and making it a triumphant celebration. T
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Kühne Salatfix für Gurkensalat,
This is a ready made creamy dill dressing for your cucumber salad.
Try a little taste of Germany from this native company; Kühne |
Or if you are in Southlake, Texas visit them in person. Here are some shots of the German Deli.
Back to Cucumber Salad;
For the Vinegar:
I like to use a light red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar because it is very mild.
this and what my grandmother use to use.
If you would just like a recipe and don’t feel like free handing this recipe
Use my Cucumber salad recipe
Aunt Aggie's Cucumber Salad
by Carol Kupser
Aunt Aggie e is also from Karlsruhe and is German/Russian. She use to make the very best caludets? Spelling is bad but the cheese filled dumpling like perogi. Also she would make salad with just lettuce, onion, and cucumbers. the dressing was sour cream, water, vinegar and salt and pepper. Mixed well it looked like milk and this was poured over the salad. she served this in a bowl with a spoon because there was plenty of the sour cream mixture in each bowl. We use to eat the salad and then put our fried potatoes in the juice. I still do this and say here is thinking of you Aunt
Fun Fact
Q: What is the world's record for largest cucumber?
A: 59 lbs, in 1988 in Australia. Sorry to everyone who were saving their 5-lb backyard cucumbers, you'll just have to find a way to eat it all!
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