Ina Garten's Genius Tip For The Crispiest Cucumber Salad — It's So Simple

Cucumbers tend to be a bit player in just about everything they touch, other than cucumber salad. There's a reason for this. This veggie's water content is so high that it can leave puddles on the plate or in the bowl they occupy, drowning out any flavor you might try to add to them. That's where Ina Garten's simple tip can be a game changer. The Barefoot Contessa's cucumber salad is anything but bland. It's crisp, creamy, and crunchy to the bite thanks to how she preps those veggies. Garten slices up both her cucumbers and her onions and salts them. But that's just half the equation. 

The cookbook author places the salted cucumbers in a colander and sets this contraption over a bowl, allowing the water to drain for at least four hours or overnight if you are not good about planning ahead. What you are left with is a firmer, more flavorful, and not swimming in a pool of its own juices. Why does it work? Salt draws out the excess water while adding a little seasoning. This brings out the cucumber's flavors that would otherwise go unnoticed. 

With less moisture, that denser, thicker dressing is going to cling more readily to those thin slices of cucumber. When dressing slides off the veggies it is supposed be coating, you might be tempted to violate Garten's salad dressing rule and add more than the amount called for, but don't. Your cucumbers will get lost in a sea of viscous dressing. 

How much salt is too much? A good rule of thumb is to use between a half teaspoon and one teaspoon of salt per pound of cucumbers. If you add too much, you might end up with a visible layer of salt on the surface of the cucumbers after they release their water content. This is a salty no-no that will ruin the dish. When it comes to the type of salt you use, don't grab the salt shaker on your table. Kosher salt works better. It adheres to the surface of the cucumber better than table salt. 

Once the water has collected in the bowl, you are going to want to pat those cut cucumbers dry using a clean dish towel or between a couple of paper towels. Do not run them under water. No rinsing required. You may notice the slices of the cucumbers look smaller. This is normal, and you are ready to toss them with Ina Garten's creamy, yogurt-based dressing. This salty tip from Garten will help you up your cooking game and will have you using it for other water-rich food items.