I live in a challenging climate for cucumbers, and I have found that the variety you choose makes a great deal of difference. Even some "burpless" varieties can easily turn bitter here. My favorite variety is "Summer Dance", sold by Pinetree and others. I have also tried "Summer Top" for earlier fruit, and it remains non-bitter but I think that Summer Dance has a little better flavor and texture. Summer Top is vigorous, though. There is also a new "Southern Delight" hybrid out which I haven't tried yet. In our climate, true cucumbers do far better when grown vertically. They can be grown in part shade here. In Mexico, cukes are sometimes grown under corn. The Armenian cucumbers will never be bitter because they're really melons. Sandhill sells a selected variety called "Duke". Baker Creek calls this type of "cucumber" a "Mekti". They offer white, painted serpent and dark green versions. The familiar scalloped light-colored Armenian cucumber does well here. I have only grown a "painted serpent" type once, and it was later, not as productive, had softer, smoother skin (not a negative) and a somewhat apple-like flavor. That brown cuke from India does fine here, too. The hybrid gherkin "Cool Breeze" doesn't get bitter, but doesn't last long into the season due to disease pressure. It's nice for early fruit or pickling. I have also used unripe "Piel de Sapo" type melons as a sort of sweet cucumber, while neighbors have used immature honeydew melon.

My ex-grandmother-in-law showed me a trick.....I have no idea why this works. Maybe it's just my imagination but I'd love for others to try it too.... When you are ready to peel your cuc, cut the ends off and hold the end back on the cuc and rub it around in a circle. Some white gooey cottage cheeze looking stuff forms around the edges. After about 10 seconds of rubbing, rinse and throw away the end. Do the same with the other side, peel the cuc and continue. It seems to work! I'd like to try this with 2 cucs that I've grown myself so I can see if there really is a taste difference. Let me know if it works for you!!! LC Grace

My cucs were bitter for the first time in about 20 years, even with plenty of rainfall. I discovered that Park Seed had sent the wrong cuc seed, and instead of the County Fair pickler, they are something else. I was picking them much too early, thinking they were picklers.....which caused alot of the bitterness. But....some of them are more bitter at the same size than some of the others. The ends are definitely the most bitter parts. And what's weird is, I put a slice in my mouth and they taste fine for a few seconds, then wham! .......so bitter I have to spit them out. Its weird that it takes awhile. I do think salting them ahead of time before eating can draw out some of the bitterness.......just as with eggplant.

Mostly it's about variety. Burpless cukes lack the bitter gene, so they can't go bitter. Most of the bitter compounds are just under the skin, so if you peel your cukes they may be more palatable.