Cucumber Salad

Divaconviva's Note:

This is my own version of my Grandma Schatz' wonderful cucumber salad. I use "burpless" cucumbers because their seeds are tender and very edible, and their skin is so thin you don't need to peel them -- a real time saver!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 16

Yield: 8.0 Cups

• 3 burpless cucumbers (approx. 14-16 inches long each)
• 1 ½ cups sour cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives , Chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt (only for optional pressing cucumbers step)
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar (more to taste)

Directions:

1. Wash and slice cucumbers with thinnest setting on vegetable slicer.
2. Place in large bowl.
3. Add salt and toss cucumber slices.
4. OPTIONAL STEP: Pressing the Cucumbers.
5. Put a plate directly on top of cucumber slices in bowl. Place jars or cans on top of plate for weight to press the sliced cucumbers. Set the jars/cans inside a plastic bag to keep the salad sanitary, so they don't sit in the liquid. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Remove the weights and tip bowl and drain off liquid that has accumulated. Repeat process 2 more times, stirring each time before pressing.
6. Stir in sour cream, vinegar, pepper, sugar and chives.
7. Adjust seasonings to taste.
8. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
9. If you skip the pressing of the cucumbers, the salad will still be delicious, but you'll have much more liquid in the bowl. Simply strain the salad with a slotted spoon when serving.

Reviews

[Dreamer in Ontario]

This is a very nice cucumber salad. I didn't press the cucumbers and since I was only cooking for two I quartered all the ingredients except for the chives (which came from my garden). Made for ZWT 4.

[CraftScout]

Our family agreed with puppitypup that this was fairly bland. I also felt like there was too much sour cream for this. We really love cucumbers, but this needed more seasoning for us. I went ahead and pressed the cucumber slices, and used fresh chives from my garden. Made for ZWT4.

[puppitypup]

We liked these, but felt they were a little bland. Next time I will increase the vinegar and add some kosher salt at the end as well. Made for ZWT, please see my rating system as I rate tougher than most.