Cucumbers & burping

A cucumber without the burp -- I love to grow cucumbers, pick 'em and eat 'em like bananas, with a dash of salt added to each bite. This is the time to plant them.

The term "cool as a cucumber" has its roots in the chemistry of the vegetable, Chuck Marr of K-State says. Cucumbers contain cucurbitacin, which, when eaten in low amounts, produces a pleasant, calming, cooling effect, he said.

"Unfortunately, as cucumbers mature, they tend to build up high concentrations of the flavor compound, which is what makes them taste bitter and makes you burp later," he said. "A lot of research has gone into producing milder-tasting, so-called 'burpless' hybrids that cause less gastric disturbance."