Doctor explains why you shouldn’t be ‘milking’ your cucumbers

We're in the midst of a cucumber craze and it all comes down to some TikTok videos.

Unless you've been living under a rock (or have just resisted the allure of the video sharing app), cucumbers are all the rage right now.

It's all about slicing up an entire cucumber, putting it into some tupperware, covering it in some delicious ingredients - for example, cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill - and giving it a good shake.

Then you have a cucumber salad that, if posted to TikTok right now, would probably go viral.

All roads lead back to Logan Moffitt, who started the vegetable frenzy with videos that start with the sentence: "Sometimes you just have to eat an entire cucumber."

Cucumbers are all the rage right now (Getty Stock Image)

He's been praised for starting a 'cucumber community', and some people have even suffered injuries as a result of slicing their cucumber too furiously.

I mean, there was a literal cucumber shortage in Iceland, with the trend being pointed at as a possible explanation.

It's gotten to the point where people are now 'milking' their cucumbers... but is it a good idea?

To milk a cucumber, you have to slice it in half and rub the parts together in order to make a foam.

One cucumber milker showed the process to TikTok and said: "Once this bitter foam comes out, your cucumber becomes less bitter."

Dr Karan Rajan took to TikTok to share his medical knowledge and offer some advice.

He replied to the aforementioned video, stating that cucumbers contain 'a smattering of nutrients and plant chemicals, and one of these happens to be a bitter chemical called cucurbitacin.'

He continued: "These bitter compounds are actually produced by the plant as a self defence mechanism.

The 'bitter' taste comes from the skin (Getty Stock Image)

"When wounded, a bitter white froth is released to prevent animals from eating it.

"But they're also good for you as they have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects."

He added: "These bitter compounds are one of the many reasons why eating vegetables and plants is good for us.

"But most of these defence chemicals are found in the skin of the cucumber, just underneath the end."

He quipped: "So when you give your cucumber a happy ending... it's not gonna make much or any difference to the flavour profile as the flesh doesn't really have that bitterness."

So, what to do if you really hate bitter flavours?

He recommends: "You can peel off the green skin - but you'll also miss a lot of the vegetable's key nutrients."

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