Zucchini vs Cucumber – What is the difference between them?

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Zucchini vs Cucumber
Cucumbers and zucchinis have always been a problem for a lot of people in terms of telling them apart. These two vegetables are very similar and it is very hard to make out the difference between them two. We tend to say that these two are vegetables, not plants but at the end of this article it will be apparent why is wrong to say that both of them are vegetables.

At first sight both seem to be the same vegetable family especially if you see them next to each other. They have a dark green colour, a juicy, seedy pale interior and a long cylindrical shape. Many people can’t see the difference between them even if there are few.

The cucumber is a plant from the gourd family that is cultivated almost all over the world. It is 95% water and 100g of cucumber has 16 calories and is a very important source of Vitamin K. It has its origins in India and it has been cultivated for at least 3000 years. Now it is found all around the world.

Zucchini is from the family of the squashes and it is related to the pumpkin. About the nutritive aspects of the zucchini it is known that 100g of zucchini contains around 17 calories and this plant can provide useful amounts of potassium and provitamine A. It has its origins in America and Italy.

As you can see these two plants are quite similar but also different, which is explained as follows:

• The first major difference between them is that the cucumber is considered a fruit and the zucchini a vegetable, despite the fact that both of them are used in the culinary domain as vegetables.

• Second difference is about their exterior. The cucumber is bumpy and cold on the exterior while the zucchini is rough and dry. A zucchini can grow to about one meter in length (if it is not harvested) whereas a cucumber length is about 15cm. So just by knowing this fact we can easily differentiate between the two.

• Third point of difference is about the way they are cooked because the cucumber is preferred to be eaten raw and the zucchini is cooked in very different ways. The taste of these two plants is not the same either. The zucchini is sweeter and bitter than the cucumber which has a juicy watery taste.

• If we speak about the plant itself (not the fruit) there are some obvious differences too. The flower of the cucumber not edible and it is smaller than the zucchini flower. The seeds of these two plants have different shape and size and the vine of the zucchini plant is thicker and upright than the cucumber vine which is a creeper.

Their origin is in different regions of the world but nowadays you can find them anywhere in any market or supermarket. It is very important to know the difference between them because just like that you can make the best decision when you decide to use them for cooking.