Riverford mini cucumber crowned best of all fruit

21st September 2009

Praised as ‘delicate, sweet, melt in the mouth, fresh and crunchy’, on 12 September 2009 Riverford’s compact Cassim cucumbers won the Fruit & Vegetable category in the Soil Association Organic Food Awards. Riverford’s pointed cabbage was awarded Commended.

Cucumbers are notoriously tricky to grow in the UK. Crops only thrive in warm, sheltered surroundings and most cucumbers are grown hydroponically, never touching the soil. Riverford grower John Harding has worked hard to discover which cucumber variety is best to cultivate for our climate and tastebuds. He found that mini straight Cassim cucumbers grown to 20cm are more flavoursome than the long, often bendy, varieties found in supermarkets.

“Growing cucumbers in the soil and keeping them small is key to enhancing their flavour,” explains John Harding, Riverford grower. “Sadly, since the judging, this crop was destroyed by aphids, but that’s the price you have to pay for farming organic, prize-winning veg!”

Order Riverford’s great-tasting produce online at www.riverford.co.uk

Cassim Cucumber Pickle recipe from the Riverford Farm Cook Book
Makes 2-2.5kg
10 Cassim cucumbers
1kg onions, peeled and halved
80g sea salt or cooking salt
500ml distilled malt vinegar
350g granulated sugar (or soft brown)
4 tsp mustard seeds
Generous ½ tsp ground cloves (or use a few whole cloves instead)
Generous ½ tsp ground turmeric

Slice the cucumbers and onions very thinly (a mandolin is ideal for this). Layer them in a bowl, sprinkling with the sea salt as you go, then weight them down with a plate and leave for a few hours or overnight. Drain off the liquid, rinse the vegetables well and drain in a colander.

Combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, cloves and turmeric in a pan and bring slowly to the boil,
stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the well-drained cucumber and onion mixture and bring back to the boil for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to sterilised jars, using a slotted spoon. Bring the liquid back to the boil and simmer until slightly reduced for about 15 minutes, then divide it between the jars, filling to the brim. Put on the lids and label. The pickle will keep for several months.

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