Cucumbers are usually green when they first appear on the plant. However, as they ripen, their green color reduces, and they eventually turn yellow.
Except for a few varieties, they’re usually harvested before they reach this stage because they’re highly perishable once they turn yellow.
However, some cucumbers are meant to be yellow and are suitable for eating and cooking only when they become this color.
Let’s look at some of these varieties.
Which Cucumbers Turn Yellow?
Most of the ripe cucumbers in the market are green when ready to consume.
If these vegetables were left on the vine for much longer, they would eventually turn yellow.
Some varieties turn yellow faster than others.
However, some cucumbers are yellow when they’re just ripe, and others have a visible yellow tint when they’re ready for use.
Here are some examples.
1. Yellow Submarine Cucumbers
The Yellow Submarine cucumber is a novelty with its striking yellow color and large size.
These cucumbers are sweeter than green cucumbers and are barely bitter even when under-ripe.
The fruits are light green color in the beginning but turn yellow when they grow.
You can harvest these vegetables once they turn yellow.
The longer you leave them on the vine, the more yellow they become.
Yellow Submarine cucumbers are easy to grow because the plant is hardy and disease-resistant.
The fruits are ready for harvest in two months.
They’re juicy and good for pickling.
However, you can also eat these cucumbers raw or add them to salads and sandwiches.
A single slice of this cucumber is usually large enough to cover an entire sandwich.
2. Lemon Yellow Cucumbers
Lemon yellow cucumbers are an exotic, heirloom variety.
As the name suggests, these cucumbers have a distinct lemon-yellow color.
They even look like lemons with their round shape and raised stalks.
They grow as big as tennis balls. However, they resemble lemons only in appearance.
These fruits don’t have any citrusy flavor. They’re mildly sweet, juicy, and crispy.
Lemon Yellow cucumbers grow well in full sun.
They need well-drained soil and plenty of space to spread out.
A good dose of nutrients will improve their yield.
You can use lemon yellow cucumbers for snacking or add them to salads.
3. Salt and Pepper Cucumbers
Salt and pepper cucumbers are small cylindrical yellow cucumbers.
They’re much smaller than typical cucumber varieties, and the fruits grow to a maximum of 10 to 12 cm.
The cucumbers are green when they first appear on the plant.
They later turn yellow and develop white bumps and black spikes on the skin.
The black and white details on the skin give them their name.
The inside of these vegetables is pale green, and they have numerous seeds.
These cucumbers have a crisp texture and sweet flavor.
Their mild and delicate flavors make them good for snacking. You can also use them for pickling.
This cucumber was specially bred for its distinct flavor and resilience to diseases and mildew.
It received the Green Thumb Award from the Direct Gardening Association for its attractive features that make it easy to grow.
It’s widely grown in home gardens as well as on a commercial basis.
4. Dosakai or Indian Cucumbers
Dosakai cucumbers are specialty produce with yellow skin, white flesh, and pale-yellow seeds.
They’re natives of India and South Asia.
These cucumbers can be round or oval, and the size can vary from medium to large.
Dosakai cucumbers appear on the vines as green globes with yellow marbling on the skin.
The yellow becomes more pronounced as they grow in size and ripen.
However, most cucumbers will have vivid green stripes even when they’re fully ripe.
The skin will be firm and not yield to pressure when it’s ready to harvest.
The flesh becomes soft and soggy when it’s overripe, and the skin turns orange.
These cucumbers are a popular cooking ingredient in South Indian cuisine.
They can be eaten raw but are generally used in stir-fries, curries, and gravy-based dishes.
5. Kirby Cucumbers
Kirby cucumbers are short and crunchy cucumbers that are widely preferred for snacking.
They’re characterized by their thick and bumpy skin.
The skin color of Kirby cucumbers ranges from green to yellow.
Even the green varieties develop yellow tints when ripe.
These cucumbers often have an irregular but elongated shape.
The size can vary according to the growing conditions and availability of sunlight.
They’re good pickling cucumbers because of their thick, crunchy skin and tough flesh.
They also taste good with well-rounded, juicy flavors.
Kirby cucumbers are used with the skin in pickles.
They also make a good addition to salads and vegetable platters.
6. Armenian Cucumbers
Despite their name, Armenian cucumbers are technically not cucumbers.
They belong to the melon family but look and taste like cucumbers.
These vegetables have a long, thin shape and variegated skin.
Their color can be light green to yellowish-green.
These cucumbers have thin skin and soft flesh.
You can eat them raw without removing the seeds and skin.
Armenian cucumbers aren’t suitable for pickling or cooking.
Their delicate flesh is very moist, and it turns mushy and releases liquid when exposed to heat.
Flavor-wise, these cucumbers are crisp, mildly sweet, and lack the distinct bitterness of raw cucumbers.
7. Mexican Mini Cucumbers
Mexican mini cucumbers are tiny snacking cucumbers, about the size of grapes.
As the name suggests, they originated in Mexico.
These are hardy and low-maintenance climber cucumber plants.
The fruits develop from yellow flowers. The design on the skin of these cucumbers resembles watermelons.
These cucumbers are versatile and can be enjoyed in various ways.
They’re a good snacking option and a favorite with young children.
These cucumbers have a crispy texture that adds a good bite to salads and sandwiches.
You can also boil or stew Mexican mini cucumbers or saute them with other vegetables.
8. Boothby’s Blonde Cucumbers
Boothby’s blond is an heirloom cucumber that produces mild and thin-skinned cucumbers.
They have an oval, creamy yellow color.
These cucumbers are well-suited for sweet pickling because of their mild and delicate flavors.
They’re believed to have originated in India, from where they reached the Western world and China.
This cucumber plant produces several flowers and fruits when planted in nutrient-rich soil and exposed to full sun.
Under favorable conditions, these cucumbers are ready for harvest in less than sixty days.
You can pluck them when the cucumbers are just three inches long, and they will be nice and crunchy.
Leave them on the plant for longer, and they will turn bright yellow and soft.
9. Diva Cucumbers
Diva cucumbers are slicing cucumbers that grow on vines.
They’re a specialty seedless cucumber variety.
These cucumbers have distinct sweet flavors and aren’t bitter.
They’re disease-resistant plants that produce high yields.
These cucumbers have glossy green skin when they’re ripe and ready for harvesting.
However, they turn yellow when over-ripe or affected by diseases. They taste good in salads and sandwiches.
10. Straight 8 Cucumbers
Straight eight cucumbers are very popular with home gardeners.
These cucumbers are named after the straight eight-inch fruits that they produce.
The cucumbers are light green initially but turn slightly yellow when mature.
The longer you leave them on the plant, the more yellow they become.
These cucumbers produce significant yields when the conditions are right.
This variety is highly-prized for its delicious flavor and high quality.
The plants grow vigorously, and you can use the cucumbers for snacking, in salads, and in vegetable platters.
These cucumbers aren’t great for cooking because they release a lot of moisture.
11. Wautoma Cucumbers
Wautoma cucumbers are short, slicing cucumbers that are very versatile.
They’re preferred by home gardeners because of their high resistance to diseases.
These plants need warmth to produce ample flowers and fruits.
When the conditions are right, Wautoma cucumbers produce a high yield.
Wautoma cucumbers have bumpy green skin, and they don’t grow too big.
The skin turns yellow when they’re left to ripen.
It’s best to harvest and use the cucumbers before this stage to enjoy their best flavors.
You can use Wautoma cucumbers for pickling as well as eat them raw.
They’re ready for harvesting in sixty days.
Further Reading: 10 Differences Between Cucumber and Zucchini
12. Jelly Melon Cucumbers
Jelly Melon is a unique cucumber with thorny mottled skin.
It’s also known as the African Horned cucumber or Kiwano.
This cucumber is just as exciting on the inside as it’s on the outside, with its soft flesh having green seeds in a jelly-like base.
It has exotic flavors, and the yellow color of the skin contrasts against the vibrant green color on the inside.
The skin of this cucumber is initially green with yellow marbling, but the yellow becomes more pronounced as the fruit matures.
It takes nearly 120 days for this vegetable to ripen completely and be ready for consumption.
At this stage, you can slice it and eat it raw.
