Paris Pickles Cucumber

Why I grow it

I grow Paris Pickles for one very specific reason: proper little French-style cornichons.

They're made to be picked young and small, when the fruit is crisp and crunchy, and they're ridiculously productive once they get going. If you're someone who considers a jar of sharp little cornichons an essential fridge item rather than an optional condiment, this cucumber earns its place.

At a glance

Type: Pickling cucumber
Fruit: Small, green and crisp
Growth: Vigorous vine
Position: Full sun
Support: Excellent grown vertically
Best for: Cornichons and pickling
Harvest: Pick young and frequently

In the kitchen

These are the cucumbers I grow specifically for making cornichons. The trick is to pick them no bigger than your little finger — small, firm and crunchy.

I make them one jar at a time as enough cucumbers become ready, rather than waiting for some mythical moment when the entire crop decides to cooperate.

Our Cornichons

Adapted over many years from an old Robert Carrier recipe.

For one large screw-top preserving jar:

• 1 kg Paris Pickles cucumbers, no bigger than your little finger
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon finely diced shallot or white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• A generous handful of French tarragon — French rather than Russian
• Mixed peppercorns
• 2 cloves
• A few bay leaves
• Vinegar
• Boiling water

Don't like tarragon? Dill works beautifully, and oregano gives you another completely different version.

Salt the cucumbers and leave them for about 30 minutes, then drain and rinse them well.

Pack the cucumbers into the jar with the onion, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves.

Pour in vinegar until it comes roughly one-third of the way up the filled jar, then top up with boiling water. Seal, refrigerate and let everything get acquainted.

Serve with a tapas-style board, terrine or pâté — or stand at the open fridge eating them directly from the jar while allegedly looking for something to make dinner with.

In the garden

Paris Pickles is a vigorous climbing cucumber and a brilliant candidate for growing vertically on a trellis, arch or other sturdy support. Growing upwards keeps the fruit easy to spot and makes frequent picking much simpler.

And frequent picking matters with this one: don't wait for enormous cucumbers. The whole point is to keep harvesting those small, crisp fruits for cornichons — and regular harvesting encourages the plant to keep producing.

Care

Grow in rich, fertile soil in full sun and keep moisture reasonably consistent, particularly once flowering and fruiting begins. Cucumbers are hungry plants, so feed through the growing season.

Give the vines something to climb from the beginning rather than attempting emergency cucumber architecture once they've already decided where they're going.