How do you unsheath your cucumbers? I feel like the plastic wrap on cucumbers has got ridiculously thin

Now what is the carbon impact of me getting into my car to drive to Tesco, about 15 miles away? And the carbon impact of a plastic sheath? And the carbon impact of Tesco collecting this cucumber to take to a factory? And the carbon impact of taking it from a factory to a distribution centre? And the carbon impact of taking it from a distribution centre to the supermarket?

You need to give your head a wobble if you think I'm the one generating a carbon emission by collecting directly from the grower.

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Swimming_Crow_9853@reddit

The carbon impact of growing your own veg is absolutely huge compared with buying it from a supermarket.

Here are some things you may not have thought of:

- Neighbour has to spend proportionally more of everything to make just a few cucumber than if grown in the farm. Soil, tools, etc.

- If he/she uses peat-based compost then that is one of the most carbon-dense substances on earth.

- Transport miles (food miles) are much less significant than people think in terms of overall carbon footprint of food (typically 5% of a food's emissions).

- Farmers will use fertilisers, pesticides seeds in bulk and use precise machinery which minimises waste. Your neighbour probably buys small quantities, he/she may overapply and is likely to discard a much higher proportion of the cucumbers.

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PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

Neighbour sells cucumber to food distributors, so all of this is irrelevant.

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Swimming_Crow_9853@reddit

I didn't know your neighbour was a farmer...in this case it might be better to buy from him. But sorry to be pedantic but an important fact is that I wouldn't expect you to drive 15 minutes to Tesco to buy one cucumber :) More likely, you would be buying it as part of a large shop when you're going anyway, and the footprint of the one cucumber is quite small. Much as I hate the plastic wrapping, there's a lot of evidence that overall there is much less thrown away because of it. It's different for other things (e.g. pretty unnecessary for apples), but for cucumbers, it's particularly effective.

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PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

Much evidence is based on the fact that too many people in the UK waste food without much care.

We have some of the best food prices relative to income of western countries, and we have become far too used to the idea that we can get food this cheap, and available all year round. The scale of food waste in the UK, both from consumers and from industry, is borderline criminal. When Russia invaded Ukraine there were BBC News headlines about potential bread shortages because Ukraine is apparently the 'bread basket of Europe'. I laughed, genuinely laughed out loud. Just a few years ago I was doing food collections from one Tesco Express store in London. I was coming home every time with a giant bin bag full of bread, pastries, all sorts of baked goods. That was just one convenience shop out of what thousands, across one city. The companies produce it knowing they won't sell it all because we have become so reliant on always having that specific loaf from that specific brand on the shelf.

A cucumber in the supermarkets is about 80p. People don't worry about eating the full thing before it goes soggy and in the bin. The plastic is necessary because without it even more would go to waste.

I've just taken a different philosophy with food which is that I buy what I'll eat and I'll eat what I buy. I don't buy tonnes of fresh stuff without a meal plan for it. And if I can see veg is going off I make it a priority to eat it or make a batch of soup or something to freeze.

I'm not saint, I don't boycott supermarkets and only buy from my neighbouring farmers, but I try.

If more people took a similar attitude towards food then we wouldn't need the plastic wrap on cucumber. And in fact for many types of produce we might not need to do 'big shops' at the supermarket. We might also learn to live with the idea that we eat different food in different seasons because that's when it's grown, locally.

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Swimming_Crow_9853@reddit

I agree with all this.

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feetflatontheground@reddit

The bottom of the barrel has well and truly been scraped. We've hit dirt now.

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Isgortio@reddit

I cut off the amount I need through the plastic, and then on the bit I want to slice up I use the knife to fit between the cucumber skin and the plastic around the edge and push up so it slices the plastic. Though you have to be sensible with this as you could cut yourself. Others have suggested scoring along the plastic from the outside which sounds like it could be safer lol

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MiserableSympathy230@reddit

looks around

To be clear we’re talking about knobs and johnnys yeah?

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adreddit298@reddit

What else?!

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Specialist-Web7854@reddit

I cut the cucumber in half, with the plastic on, then peel it off one of the halves from the cut end. Wash and slice and chuck the other half back in the fridge still wrapped, until you need it.

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CrabbyGremlin@reddit

You and Kendall Jenner can get together and awkwardly faff around with cucumbers while the rest of us get it done without any trouble.

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Original_Bad_3416@reddit

Tbf I just wank it off

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LegolasleChat@reddit

Use your teeth to slowly push the plastic away from the tip

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Glittering_Box4815@reddit

Oh matron!

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b135702@reddit

Cut the end off then do a shallow score longways.

Gonna be honest, I didn't know this was a problem people encountered!

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Common-Celery5197@reddit (OP)

Maybe it's just where I'm buying them from, the plastic has got so tight and thin

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PKblaze@reddit

Lots of practice

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phetea@reddit

I pull it down like a foreskin, cut what i need then not the top.

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No_Repair7134@reddit

Use a sharper knife

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Hazz3r@reddit

Just slice up the side like a sharp knife with however much you need.

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

I just cut it where I need it. The plastic comes off the chunk easily and then can slice or dice it as required.

The rest goes back in the fridge as-is and I just accept the very end will dry out but that bit just gets chopped off and discarded.

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bettybujo@reddit

Cut it off with scissors and wash it before putting it in the fridge. They are wrapped in the field unwashed apparently

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Namiweso@reddit

Cut off what I want (in a chunk) with the wrapper on. Score lengthways so it’s easy to remove. Then chop as required. I have to do this anyway as my partner can’t eat the skin.

Cling film the leftover end and reuse that cling film after each cut until it’s all gone.

Peeling it back has never been that great

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GoodTato@reddit

Cut the end and it comes off easily enough

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breakbeatx@reddit

Chop the end off, slide the knife down the side/near the seam and rip it all off at once, then store without plastic in the fridge (so you only have to do it once rather than have a fight every time you want salad)

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Cool_Doubt2152@reddit

Cut the end off, peel back, and chop

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Derfel60@reddit

I grow my own

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h5n1zzp@reddit

Fnarr fnarr

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aIexm@reddit

It sucks but I end up desheathing them entirely and sticking them in a resealable box in the fridge. Can’t be bothered to deal with the stuff it comes with. Do the same with tomatoes and other veg tbh.

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Ralphisinthehouse@reddit

chop the right length off and score down the length chopped off and the wrap can easily be peeled or chop the length in half from top to bottom and the wrap comes off.

I'm pretty annoyed with myself for even giving this thought.

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