Burpless Cucumber is a cucumber that causes little to no burping after consumption. Lack of burping has been associated with cucumber varieties which contain low cucurbitacin, a biochemical compound responsible for bitterness in cucumbers. This same compound has been linked to gastronomical distress in some people which triggers burping. Burpless cucumbers are generally milder in taste, seedless and easier on the human digestive system. There are different varieties of burpless cucumbers, most of which are hybrid cultivars especially developed to be as burpless as possible.
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What are Burpless Cucumbers?
A burpless cucumber is a cucumber that does not cause burping after eating it. Some people experience burping even as a social indiscretion after eating regular cucumbers. According to the University of Missouri Integrated Pest Management, to solve this problem, burpless cucumbers began to be introduced in the middle of the 20th century.
Burpless cucumber is thus a hybrid cultivar legitimately belonging to the Cucumis sativus species developed to produce very low levels of the compound cucurbitacin. This chemical compound is what causes bitterness in cucumbers. In addition, it is also thought to cause digestive discomfort in some individuals following consumption of regular cucumber varieties. Over the years, some seed companies have developed their own varieties of burpless cucumber to address cucumber induced burping. Such varieties are widely marketed as burpless (see seed and varieties section).
The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS) at the University of California identifies close to 100 cucumber varieties. Of these, the common ones are the English, Garden, Persian, Mini, Armenian, and Lemon varieties. English and Persian cucumbers are perhaps the best known burpless cucumbers. They are milder in taste, sweeter and seedless and tend to agree with the digestive systems of many people.
Burpless Cucumbers and Cucurbitacin
Of interest is that there has been apparent uncertainty whether a burpless cucumber must not have any cucurbitacin at all. The University of Missouri Integrated Pest Management maintains that regardless of type, cucumbers contain some level cucurbitacin which imparts the bitter taste. This is to say, all cucumbers, including burpless ones, have cucurbitacin. What varies is the level of the compound in the cucumber.
As noted by the University of Maryland Extension, hybrid varieties sold as burpless cucumbers are especially bred to produce lower levels of this compound. It thus makes sense that they are often described as sweeter than regular cucumbers with higher levels of cucurbitacin.
Even so, non-burpless cucumbers can be made less bitter by intentionally severing a section of the cucumber attached to the stem and also peeling the cucumber of its skin before consumption. These areas contain higher levels of cucurbitacin and are therefore bitter. Furthermore, many people remain unaware that cucumber moisture and heat distress whilst still on the vine are contributing factors to concentrated levels of cucurbitacin in cucumbers. The factors squarely fall within the grower’s control.
Folklore Cucumber Bitterness Trick
There is a generational passed-down trick that appears to work in ridding regular cucumbers of their bitterness. The bitter cucumber is cut on both ends as is usually suggested.
However, instead of throwing away one of the cut off pieces, the cut piece is rubbed against the now exposed ends of the cucumber in a circular motion. As this is done, the cucumber produces a white foamy substance. After the foaming on the ends, the cucumber is peeled and applied in recipes and dishes as intended. Apparently, all the bitterness would have vanished!
Parthenocarpic Burpless Cucumber
Regular cucumber seeds, especially bigger seeds, are particularly bitter when consumed together with the cucumber. They contain high levels of cucurbitacin. It is for this reason that removing the seeds before consuming the cucumber reduces bitterness as well as the risk of burping. This is to say, manual removal of cucumber seed is a reliable method among some cucumber eaters of making it burpless.
On the other hand, certain cucumber varieties are naturally occuring parthenocarpic cultivars. Parthenocarpic plants produce fruit without need for fertilization. The resultant fruit is typically seedless. Cucumber varieties such as Muncher and Diva (see varieties section) are parthenocarpic cultivars, which produce seedless fruit. These burpless varieties make it possible to enjoy cucumbers without concern for seeds in cases where seeds are particularly known to cause digestive issues.
Burpless Cucumber Characteristics
Hybrid burpless cucumber is characterized as smaller in size (depending on variety), long, somewhat narrow, sweeter, bitter-free, seedless (depending on variety) with smoother thin skin. Burpless cucumber vs regular cucumber, due to the lower levels of cucurbitacin, the burpless cucumber offers little risk of triggering digestive issues in individuals who would otherwise suffer the same after eating traditional cucumber. For the grower, depending on variety, burpless cucumbers also offer resistance to certain diseases such as scab, yellow virus and powdery mildew which are common to Cucumis sativus. When planted from seed, burpless cucumber matures in 58 to 70 days.
Burpless Cucumber vs Regular Cucumber
| Regular Cucumber | Burpless Cucumber | |
| Botanical Name | Cucumis sativus | Cucumis sativus |
| Family | Cucurbitaceae | Cucurbitaceae |
| Taste | Bitter | Mildly sweet flavor |
| Seeds | Large | Small to seedless |
| Skin | Thick, rough | Thin, tender, smooth |
| Color | Dark green | Evenly green |
| Shape | Cylindrical | Long, narrow |
| Length | 6-10inches | 10-20inches |
Burpless Cucumber Seed and Varieties
As earlier mentioned, since the development of burpless cucumber cultivar there has been ongoing development by competing seed makers of cucumber varieties with burpless qualities. The following is our list of some of the well known burpless cucumber varieties and their seed sources.
Sweet Slicer Burpless Cucumber
The disease resistant sweet slicer cucumber hybrid variety produces burpless, sweet, bitter-free cucumber fruit with glossy dark looking green skin. The cucumber fruit which grows up to 12 inches or 30cm long with a white inside is a good ingredient for making *salads* as the skin is smooth and tender and can be eaten without need for peeling.
The cucumber plant is high yielding, maturing in about 60 to 62 days even under difficult conditions. For best looking fruit, trellising or netting is highly recommended with this variety. Sweet slicer burpless cucumber variety is accessible through Amazon as seeds or GrowJoy as potted plants.
Tasty Green Burpless Cucumber
Native to Southern Asia, the Tasty Green cucumber variety is a Japanese or English cucumber with very few seeds. It is mildly flavoured typical of burpless cukes, has thin tender skin, is non-bitter and has tiny seeds. This cucumber variety has all the hallmarks of a burpless cucumber just as seen with the forgoing Sweet Slicer variety.
The variety’s plant is highly productive. However, it will require some help with trellising if it is to produce aesthetically pleasing straight looking fruit. The variety is ready to pick in 60 days for salads and instant enjoyment off the vine. In the U.S. seeds can be acquired through Botanical Interests.
Burpee Burpless Beauty
The Burpee burpless beauty is yet another smooth-skinned, thin-skinned burpless cucumber. The variety seems to live up to its “beauty” name. It has a slicing cucumber with pure white flesh and very small seeds. The maker of the kind, Burpee, praises the variety for being very easy to digest partly because of its apparent juiceness.
In appearance, the fruit is long and deep green looking. It is a disease resistant cucumber which can be expected to produce fruit in 60 days. Seeds for this variety are available through Amazon here.
Muncher Burpless Cucumber
The Muncher burpless cucumber variety is a highly regarded cultivar because of some of its specific qualities. It is a greenhouse suitable variety which produces fruit without the need for insect pollinators. It is ideal for both fresh eating and pickling when harvested at about 6 inches or 15cm long.
As mentioned earlier, heat stress causes cucumbers to turn bitter. Muncher cucumbers do not taste bitter even at high temperatures as high as 100 degrees (38 degrees celsius) according to some grower experiences. It is ready for harvest in 60 days. Seeds for this variety are available in the U.S from Baker Creek.
Diva Cucumber
This is a parthenocarpic variety just as the forgoing Muncher cucumber. This is to say it can develop sterile fruit without seeds. This is an heirloom cultivar of burpless cucumber which produces thin-skinned cucumbers which are crisp, sweet and without bitterness. Diva variety produces aesthetically fine looking cucumbers, long and straight.
Furthermore, for the grower it offers robust resistance to scab and satisfactory resistance to other known cucumber problems such as vein yellow virus and powdery mildew. This open pollinated variety matures in 58 days and is available in the U.S from Johnny’s Seeds.
What to Do with Burpless Cucumbers?
Save for pickling, burpless cucumbers are practically applicable in as many culinary preparations as regular cucumber. According to PennState Extension, an enzyme that is produced by burpless cucumbers during fermentation which softens the cucumbers makes them unsuitable for pickling.
One of the most common applications of burpless cucumbers is in raw salads. The thin smooth skin of the cucumbers, non-bitterness and mildly sweet flavor makes them ideal for raw green salads along with leafy greens and sprinkles of herbs such as basil, rosemary, sweet peppers, and others.
Apart from eating them raw of the vine with a sprinkle of dill, for example, burpless cucumbers can also be used in burgers and sandwiches. Furthermore, many hybrid burpless varieties produce beautiful slices especially when sliced using a mandoline (see below), which creates appealing food presentations.
The following is our list of delicious recipes that utilize burpless cucumbers for you to try.
Burpless Cucumber Recipes
| Burpless Cucumber Salad Recipe – this is an easy to make very simple 20 minute cucumber salad recipe with scrumptious results which utilizes three English burpless cukes. The cucumbers are first soaked for just 2 minutes in vinegar and water solution before being scrubbed and rinsed thoroughly. If a regular cucumber is used (i.e. which is not burpless) the skin should be peeled and seeded. For an inviting presentation, the cucumbers are sliced using a spiral veggie cutter (see below). This apparently produces an invitingly looking salad with an Asian flair. Other ingredients for this recipe are chili flakes, sugar and kosher salt. View Recipe. |
| Spicy Stir-Fried Japanese Eggplant and Cucumber Recipe – this recipe creates a delicious side dish involving eggplant and burpless cucumber. See this feature we did on white eggplants and their applications. You can easily use white eggplant instead of regular purple eggplant in this recipe with no adverse consequences. Apart from 2 cucumbers, this recipe also requires rice vinegar, soy sauce, dark sesame oil and red pepper flakes to taste among other ingredient items. The cucumbers used are to be burpless because they are applied whole i.e skin and seeds with only the ends trimmed off. View Recipe. |
| Mexican Burpless Cucumber Snack Recipe – if you already fell in love with Mexican red Chilaquiles which we write about here, you will likely also enjoy this 5 minute recipe producing scrumptious Mexican cucumber snacks. While you could enjoy the cucumber off the vine with a simple salt sprinkle, this recipe puts extra effort to create a snack to reckon with. A snack that can be shared with guests with no shame. The cucumber is peeled, sliced and sprinkled with lime and chili powder. Use a mandoline (see below) for appetizing cucumber slices. View Recipe. |
Fresh Burpless Cucumber Salsa Recipe – this tasty recipe is ready in 15 minutes. It only requires one burpless cucumber, diced jalapenos, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes and diced onions. Salt and pepper are used to season the ingredients to taste. Everything is mixed together and the final product is served on wraps, tacos and so on. It is a super simple recipe to make using cucumber with absolutely scrumptious results. View Recipe. |
| Easy Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe – this recipe produces a creamy looking cucumber side dish garnished with dill at serving. Burpless cucumber is required in this recipe due to its tender skin and tiny to no seeds. The cucumber is washed before use without need for peeling. Although the recipe takes only 15 minutes to prepare, the final dish is ready in 2 hours 15 minutes. At least 2 hours are needed for the salad to sit in the fridge whilst the flavors mix and take hold for best taste. Other ingredients used in the recipe include sour cream, Greek yogurt, white vinegar, calorie free sugar, white pepper and chopped deal. View Recipe. |
| Gluten-Free Cucumber Slices Proven̤al Recipe Рthis recipe takes only 10 minutes to make and produces 32 servings which are essentially gluten-free cucumber slices with toppings. The recipe calls for burpless cucumbers which are chilled. Other ingredients going in include sun-dried tomato spread, goat cheese and fresh basil leaves or even flowers could be used. The preparation of the recipe includes some brief handiwork on the cucumber slices before application of the spread. View Recipe. |
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| Spiral Cucumber Cutter – the earlier burpless cucumber salad recipe listed above calls for a spiral veggie cutter to cut the cucumbers in a certain way. This piece of equipment produces what the recipe is calling for. The outcome is a dish with an Asian looking appeal consistent with the concept behind the recipe. This spiral cutter can be used on a variety of other vegetables and not only cucumbers. It can cut beets, onions, carrots and eggplants among other fruits and vegetables. See on Amazon. |
How to Grow Burpless Cucumbers
Growing burpless cucumbers, for the most part, follows the general cultivation approaches for all domesticated cucumbers. Like all cucumbers, burpless cucumbers are warm weather crops which prefer loose, organic soils and plenty of sunlight. They should be planted away from trees where they are coerced to compete for nutrients and water. Furthermore, cucumbers must not be allowed to fall into moisture distress as this will trigger bitterness (pun intended). Excessive heat also results in high concentrations of the dreaded cucurbitacin.
Some home growers are surprised to find their cucumbers yellowing whilst on the vine. This is mainly due to late harvesting. Cucumbers must be harvested as soon as they are ready to avoid them going to seed. Yellowing is a typical sign that a cucumber is overdue for harvest and has essentially bolted.
As already mentioned when we discussed cucumber varieties, some burpless cucumber types produce better looking fruit if supported by a trellis such that the produce doesn’t touch the ground. The grower will need to look closely at the requirements of the respective variety under cultivation. This information is usually published on the seed packaging. We suggest this guide on Growing Cucumbers in the Home Garden by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Conclusion
Burpless cucumber is a cucumber that does not induce burping as happens with some regular cucumbers. Burpless varieties are often especially bred cultivars that have very low levels of the bitter compound that upsets the digestive system leading to burping in some individuals. Burpless cucumbers are nowadays widely available in produce outlets and are used in a variety of culinary preparations. The cucumbers are mostly used raw. Growing burpless cukes from seed is easy. It follows the cultivation methods applicable to regular cucumbers although this variety produces better looking fruit when trellised.
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