These cucumbers are grown on fully functional vines with both male and female flowers so they have a large seed mass and plenty of seeds. Consequently they have more real cucumber flavor than seedless varieties.
The skin is fairly tough and bitter so they are almost always peeled. Since they'll be peeled anyway growers seal them with a heavy coating of wax for longer storage - they'll last at least two weeks in the fridge. You do want to peel them because you don't know who sponsored the FDA studies certifying that wax as "edible".
Size varies widely but the photo specimen is 9-1/4 inches long, 2-3/8
inches diameter and weighed 1-1/4 pounds. A more typical supermarket size
would likely be 12 ounces to a pound. The cut one was picked quite young so
the seeds are immature and the seed mass is relaively small. When cucumbers
become over-ripe they start to yellow, the seeds start to harden and the
seed mass gets a stronger flavor.
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©Andrew Grygus
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