Cutting Cucumbers 101

Do you know the best techniques for cutting Cucumbers? Chef Zach, our culinary expert here at Nature Fresh Farms, will be showing you how to cut Cucumbers so they are perfectly prepared to toss in your favorite salads!

We grow a few different types of Cucumbers at Nature Fresh Farms (which you can learn more about in our Cucumber Guide), but the best Cucumbers for cutting up and adding to a salad are Long English Cucumbers and Mini Cucumbers. These varieties are the perfect size for slicing, dicing, and julienning, which are the go-to options when cutting up Cucumbers.

It’s time to take a look at how you can start cutting Cucumbers like a pro–let’s get started!

The Best Ways to Slice & Dice Your Cucumbers

While slicing a Cucumber is one of the easiest cuts to master, that’s not the only way to cut Cucumbers! Let’s look at some other ways to cut Cucumbers so that preparing salads for your family becomes fast and easy.

How to Dice Cucumbers

Here’s a step-by-step guide for how to dice Cucumbers using a Long English Cucumber:

1. Before you start dicing your Cucumber, make sure you thoroughly wash it with cold water.
2. Lay the Cucumber flat on your cutting board, and using a santoku knife, trim off each end of the Cucumber.
3. Slice the Cucumber in half, then take one half and cut it lengthwise down the center.
4. Placing the flat sides facedown on the cutting board, cut these two pieces lengthwise down the center once more so you have Cucumber quarters.
5. Lay all four Cucumber quarters flat and neatly arrange them side by side on the cutting board. Start cutting across the Cucumber quarters until you reach the other end of the Cucumber.
6. Repeat these steps with the other half of the Cucumber.
7. And there you have it–freshly diced Cucumbers!

When preparing diced Cucumbers, you can use either Long English Cucumbers or Mini Cucumbers, but keep in mind the Long English Cucumbers will yield larger pieces.

How to Prepare Julienned Cucumbers

Here’s a step-by-step guide for how to prepare julienned Cucumbers using a Long English Cucumber:

1. Before you start cutting your Cucumber, make sure you thoroughly wash it with cold water.
2. Lay the Cucumber flat on your cutting board, and using a santoku knife, trim off each end of the Cucumber.
3. Break the Cucumber down into more manageable pieces–we recommend cutting it into 3 to 4 pieces.
4. Stand your first piece of Cucumber up vertically and carefully slice down one side of the Cucumber to remove the skin on that side.
5. Lay the Cucumber flat on this side and begin cutting thin slices lengthwise, making your way across the Cucumber until you have 6 to 8 thin slices.
6. Stack these thin slices on top of each other and carefully begin cutting matchstick-shaped pieces of Cucumber.
7. Repeat these steps for your remaining 2 to 3 pieces of Cucumber.
8. And there you have it–julienned Cucumbers!

Since you are cutting very thin strips when preparing julienned Cucumbers, we recommend using Long English Cucumbers rather than Mini Cucumbers. This will yield more strips and be easier to prepare.

Extra Tips for Cutting Cucumbers

Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind when cutting Cucumbers:

• Don’t peel off the skin – A Cucumber’s skin is where most of its vitamins and nutrients are stored, including vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium. That means if you peel off the skin, you are taking away many of a Cucumber’s health benefits.
• Sharp knives are key – Before you start cutting your Cucumbers, make sure your santoku knife is sharp. Cutting with sharp knives is always safer because you avoid the risk of a dull knife slipping mid-cut.
• Cut Cucumbers first – If you have lots of veggies to prepare for a salad, make sure Cucumbers are one of the first ingredients you cut! Cutting Cucumbers doesn’t create much of a mess so preparing them first is the best way to keep your cutting surface organized. 

More Cucumber Resources

Once you’ve mastered these simple cuts, preparing Cucumbers for salads is going to be a breeze! But there is still so much more you can be getting out of this fresh food. Check out these guides for extra Cucumber resources.

The Veggie Lover’s Guide to Cucumbers

Veggie Storage Guide

Produce Buying Guide

How to Use Up Extra Cucumbers And, if you’re interested in learning different ways to cut Tomatoes, check out our Tomato cutting guide here!