Cucumbers are one of the only veggies you can’t cook, and they are always eaten raw. The expression “cool as a cucumber” comes from the cucumber’s amazing ability to cool down the body’s hydration.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. Other important members of this family include watermelon, muskmelon, pumpkin, and squash. Native to India, cucumber is another one of our most ancient vegetables. Cucumbers were cultivated and eaten in ancient Egpyt as evidenced by the Bible. The cucumber’s water retentive ability earned it the reputation for never losing its cool. As a result, 17th Century physicians prescribed placing fever patients on a bed of cucumbers so they would become “cool, as a cucumber”. Additionally, it was thought that if cucumbers were eaten three times daily, red noses would be healed and pimples on the face would disappear.