Cucumber salad made in the Thermomix® comes down to one key step that separates crisp from soggy: salt draws out the cucumber liquid before the dressing goes in. Skip this step and any cream and dill combination will turn watery within 20 minutes.
We have been making cucumber salad for every BBQ evening for years. We know exactly what works: the cucumber must be salted and drained first, otherwise the dressing ends up swimming in watery liquid after half an hour. This is not an optional detail but a physical necessity.
Cucumber Salad with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 g soured cream
- 50 g double cream
- 1 pinch sugar
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 10 g lemon juice
Instructions 0 / 4
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1
Prepare the cucumbers.
Cucumbers: wash, cut into pieces and chop for 4 sec / speed 5.
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2
Drain the cucumbers.
Place the cucumbers in a sieve, mix with 1/2 tsp salt and leave to drain.
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3
Mix the dressing.
Add 1/2 tsp salt, remaining ingredients and cucumbers to the mixing bowl and mix for 10 sec / reverse direction / speed 3.
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4
Serve.
Transfer the cucumber salad to a bowl and serve.
Tip: This cucumber salad goes perfectly with our fish patties and grilled meat.
Nutrition per serving
Why cucumbers must release their liquid
Cucumbers consist of over 95 per cent water, held inside the cells. Salt draws the liquid out of the cells by osmosis and breaks down the cell walls. If you skip this step and add the dressing directly to freshly cut cucumbers, the following happens: the cucumbers still release water, just directly into the dressing. After 20 minutes, instead of a creamy salad you have a thin sauce with cucumber pieces floating in it.
We salt the cucumbers separately in a sieve, leave them for 10 minutes and pour away the water that runs out. Only then does the dressing go in. The salad stays creamy, even if it sits for a while.
Speed 5 for 4 seconds cuts evenly
The Thermomix® chops the cucumbers at speed 5 in 4 seconds into uniform pieces. No longer, or you get mush. No shorter, or large chunks remain. The setting is deliberately medium: at speed 7 or higher the blade shreds the cucumber, at speed 3 too little happens.
Important: cut the cucumbers into rough pieces first so they fit through the lid opening. We cut each cucumber into 3 to 4 parts before adding them to the mixing bowl. This distributes the chopping work evenly.
Soured cream plus double cream gives the right consistency
The dressing is made from 200 g soured cream and 50 g double cream. Soured cream alone would be too thick and would make the cucumbers clump together. Double cream alone would be too thin and would run off. The combination gives a creamy texture that coats the cucumber pieces without becoming stodgy.
We mix the dressing in the Thermomix® on reverse direction and speed 3 for 10 seconds. Reverse direction prevents the cream from starting to whip or air bubbles forming. The dressing should be smooth, not frothy.
Dill and lemon juice as the flavour base
Dried dill provides the classic cucumber salad flavour. Fresh dill would be more intense, but not everyone has it to hand. 2 tsp dried dill is enough for 4 servings. Any more and the salad tastes of nothing else.
10 g lemon juice lifts the creaminess and balances the double cream. Without acidity, the dressing tastes flat. Vinegar instead of lemon works too, but changes the character: vinegar gives sharpness, lemon gives freshness.
A pinch of sugar rounds off the dressing. Not to sweeten it, but to take the edge off the acidity. Without sugar the salad tastes sharp, with a pinch it tastes balanced.
When the salad is ready and how long it keeps
Cucumber salad is ready to serve as soon as it is mixed. It should not sit for longer than 2 hours, even in the fridge. The cucumbers continue to release liquid despite the pre-salting, just more slowly. After 3 to 4 hours the dressing becomes thinner.
We always make the salad right before serving. If you want to prepare it ahead: chop and salt the cucumbers, leave to drain and store in the fridge. Mix the dressing separately. Combine the two only just before eating.
Ridge cucumbers work differently to standard cucumbers
Ridge cucumbers have a thicker skin and firmer flesh. They release less water than standard cucumbers but need to salt for longer, at least 15 minutes. Chopping takes 1 to 2 seconds longer because the structure is more compact.
We prefer standard cucumbers because they are more tender and quicker to prepare. Ridge cucumbers suit stronger dressings with vinegar and onion better than cream and dill.
How other recipes approach it
Goes well with: schnitzel and meatballs.
Cookidoo® and similar platforms mostly use soured cream or creme fraiche with dill and skip the salt-drain trick. Other Thermomix® sites slice the cucumber directly in the mixing bowl in a fraction of a second, bypassing a clean chopping board. Some recipes use a light balsamic yoghurt instead of soured cream, others use garlic instead of onion. We stick with the classic version using standard cucumbers and 200 g soured cream plus 50 g double cream, because the dressing coats the slices so well. We never skip the salt trick, otherwise the salad sits in its own water after 20 minutes.
More salads from the Thermomix® include our recipes for fish patties, coleslaw and potato salad.
