Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who joined in last week's Flavor of The Week discussion about Blackberry.
As always, the purpose of this thread is to gather the community to explore a flavor and its many uses. And it's also to have FUN!
Post recipes containing this week's Flavor of the Week, as the star or in a supporting role, with or without development notes. Talk about other people's recipes that use it. Compare and contrast different manufacturers' versions of the FOTW. Ask for help using that flavor in general or to achieve something specific, offer advice, brainstorm ideas, consider substitutions, suggest pairings... really anything at all as long as it's on topic.
This week's flavor is: Cucumber
Past FOTW posts can be found here
Prepare yourselves, next week's FOTW will be: PEANUT BUTTER
The week after that will be: Coffee
The week after that will be: Donut
The week after that will be: Passion Fruit
The week after that will be: Blueberry
The week after that will be: Blackcurrant
The week after that will be: Apricot
The week after that will be: Papaya
The week after that will be: Puddings - thanks /u/deejaymillsnyc
The week after that will be: Walnut - thanks /u/Alextwillz
The week after that will be: Cinnamon - thanks /u/perennialphilosopher
The week after that will be: ??? You tell me. Please take this opportunity to suggest one that interests you (or send me a PM to do that). Otherwise I'm going have to resort to picking one of these from /u/tranceinate: Pistachio, pandoro, panetonne, pumpkin, pasta, paprika, parfait, pastry, pesto, pickle, potato, praline, pretzel, pulled pork, pizza, pancake, pie, pie crust, pie filling, peppers, plantain, pudding. And from /u/Turbonatorcharged: Butter Chicken, French baguette.
Just rub it in my face, won't you?
I mixed up a recipe months ago where I used cucumber instead of fruit and it was horrible so I put it away and now it's steeped beautifully and I never wrote down the recipe :(
Just coincidence, this thing has been on the FOTW schedule for at least a month. This is exactly why I never do anything that could lead to not knowing the precise measurements (such as adding a few drops of something to a bottle after sampling some of it), because I'm certain that if I did I'd finally create the best recipe ever... and never be able to replicate it.
Thank you for posting about your heartbreaking mistake in the New Mixers' Questions thread where someone might learn from it the importance of writing everything down.
That was my point of posting it there!
Writing things down would mean having to throw away the 14,000 post-it notes on my mixing wall, lol
Did that a few times when I started, and didn't realize until I went back to the "shelved reject" bottles to verify they were bad, so a couple long steepers from my first 3 or 4 months of steeping were lost to time.
I put everything in a Google spreadsheet on my google drive now, so it's accessible from anywhere, and I can sort through to find a six month old bottle, or even a bad mix I tried a year ago and dumped at six months. I'll never mix those, but when I go into "mad scientist" mode, I can read through the bad mixes to get a rough guideline of what not to go nuts with.
So I'll post this here because I think I need some help with it, and it's mainly cucumber:
CAP cucumber 5%
INW cactus 2%
FE green tea 1%
FA spearmint ½%
I'm not sure about the mint but I don't have anything else but INW eucalyptus with mint.
What part of it needs help? Just the mint?
Yeah. I remember talking about this when I made it with the other mint. Neither one seems like the best fit. Although this version is better
Cucumber and mint is such a classic combo. Of course you run the risk of finding one that, for whatever reason, just doesn't fit with the cactus and green tea, but what I'd do if I wanted to tackle this would be to go to ATF, search for CAP Cucumber first but also all other cucumber flavors, and look at recipes to see which mints other people are pairing with cucumber.
A simple cucumber melon:
LA Watermelon 4%
CAP Cucumber 2%
TFA Honeydew 0.25%
CAP Cucumber is super refreshing and has just a hint of the skin of a cucumber. I could see it pairing well with things like lime, FLV wild melon, various cantaloupe flavors, mint, possibly cactus, LA Lemonade and INW Melon.
I was drunk and wanted to see if CAP Cucumber paired with CAP Sugar Cookie and NOPE. It was just unpleasant so I think this flavor is going to work best with other fruits. I'd love to try to create something like a cucumber bakery or ice cream recipe, though.
Also, your title game is on point!
/u/PalefaceVaper see above ^^^ Champ got you that watermelon cucumber juice.
> I was drunk and wanted to see if CAP Cucumber paired with CAP Sugar Cookie
You went full /u/Philosaphuker except with cuc instead of cac
/u/PalefaceVaper keep in mind that I enjoy TFA Honeydew in small amounts whereas some people do not. If you do not, look to supplement that LA Watermelon with another melon like cantaloupe. Using the recipe I posted as a starting point for your watermelon cucumber ADV probably wouldn't be a bad idea.
Oh, /u/ID10-T I just remembered that along with sugar cookie and cucumber I thought including cap lemon meringue pie would be a good idea. Maybe Phuker could work some of his magic.
Nice :)
I don't have LA Watermelon, but I'm sure out of the 3 I have (FA, TFA, or INW), I should be able to come up with something.
I'm glad he used CAP Cucumber .... that was definitely the winner I thought of the two cucumber flavors I owned (TFA, CAP). Means my DIY spidey senses and taste buds are getting better.
About to mix some of this up with some JF Honeydew Melon
How is that JF Honeydew Melon?
Cucumber gives me chest pains. No idea why or how, but when I vape it I have chest pains. It sucks cause I love cucumber mixes
FA Cucumber will give you lots of a sharp, green, rind flavor. It is not really juicy and should probably be kept around the 1% range. It is tough to work with due to its bitterness, but I like it with INW Melon, Cactus, and some mint. I haven't developed any polished mixes with it yet, though.
I have been meaning to pick up CAP Cucumber for forever, but it slips my mind every time I go to order.
Have you tried a different cucumber besides FA?
I've only ever used TFA Cucumber at 1% in a melon mix with FLV Wild Melon and TFA Cantaloupe.
TFA Cucumber tastes mainly of the rind instead of the actual vegetable you eat. Which is disappointing. It also has a weird black pepper note that detracts from the authenticity of it and is very off putting.
Made me not want to try another cucumber. I love melon vapes but cucumber just isn't my thing.
CAP Cucumber is pretty good
Does it taste more of the edible vegetable or the rind?
Do you get a pepper note from TFA VBIC/White Chocolate/Vanilla Custard too?
I've never tried, that I know of, TFA White Chocolate so I can't comment on that.
TFA VBIC and TFA Vanilla Custard are both fine with me. I use VBIC a lot and never had noticed a black pepper note in a mix.
In fact TFA Cucumber is one of the only concentrates I have ever noticed the black pepper flavor that people talk about.
Doesn't have a name...
0.5% Cucumber (FA)
0.5% Key Lime (FW)
2.5% Mojito (FW)
0.50% INW Watermelon
I wanted something refreshing and I wanted to try something with cucumber... so there's this. The cucumber makes the watermelon more refreshing and provides texture. You could also use Medicine Flowers Watermelon for this at 0.5% and bump the cucumber to 1%, depending on what you have. I don't know that I would use a different watermelon from those two because all the other ones I've tried taste artificial, like Jolly Ranchers. (which isn't bad... just don't think it'd go well with this recipe) The lime adds a zest to it. (plus I really like lime) The Mojito adds the more lime and the slightest hint of mint. (very subtle, IMO) Herbal mints go nicely with cucumber.
That looks like it would be refreshing AF. Maybe even a good cleanser for palates that are worn out on heavy custards and such?
A quality Watermelon Cucumber is a recipe\flavor profile I've been searching for, and trying to nail for a while now.... it's the only reason I purchased the two cucumber flavors I own (CAP & TFA)..... recently it's been on the back burner due to the other recipes and flavors I've been working on. But I would love to get a nice Watermelon Cucumber juice that would be an ADV.
Got Cap first time never looked for another cucumber.. watermelon cucumber mint was my jam when i first started diying..
FOTW :Id like to see puddings as flavor of the week. I love pudding! Pudding makes me horny.
I vote Cucumber & Apple
Which cucumber(s) and which apple(s), though?
I only have CAP Cucumber. I have mixed it with FA Fuji, FA Fig and Tamarin.
I just found out that cats are terrified of cucumbers... Kind of off the wall but I think it's related enough
Time to bust out the FA and/or CAP Cucumber and find out it it's the sight of cucumbers or even just a cucumberish aroma that frightens felines.
offtopic: my cat is terrified by bananas. At first I thought it was a matter of a shape - maybe she recognizes it as a snek or something, but once I walked into a room with a bottle TPA Banana Cream in my hand and my cat just fucking snaped, started to run in circles around apartment. Since then I test my banana aromas (the cat built some tolerance, she knows now that she is not in danger, I think she just finds the smell very unpleasant) with help of this little piece of fur, alright. LA banana seems to be the scariest, and TPA Banana Ripe - the most bearable.
Simple recipe I've been working on. It's not complete yet, but it works well so far.
(Cap) Cucumber, 3%
(Cap) Honeydew, 3%
(TPA) Greek yogurt, 5%
(FA) Fresh cream 0.5%
(CAP) Lime 0.5
I call it "can I please be taken seriously for 10 minutes"
Just a cucumber Melon cream.
Nothing special.
I use FA Cucumber as a pallet clenser. I prefer FA Cucumber over Capella's because it tastes cleaner and more natural, like they literally took the juice of a cucumber and concentrated it.
PPC - Perfect Pallet Cleanser
• Cucumber (FA) - 2%
• Lime (INW) - .5%
• Natural Mint (INW) - .5%
-optional-
• Cactus (INW) - .5%
• Jamaican Rum (FA) - 1.5%
Thanks! Just mixed this - no sweetener or Jamaican Rum, but added the Cactus. It's currently gently heating next to my computer - will give it a shake-n-vape drip here in a few minutes.
Oh that's good. We'll see where she lands after a few days to really meld together, but this confirms it for me: I need to try INW Natural Mint in my Coolcumber Mint. I really like the INW Lime here, although as a shakenvape, it really towers over the cucumber, which surprised me with the cuke being at 2%.
Nice mix!
Does it still make a good palate cleanser with the optional ingredients added?
Good question, I thought about that after I posted it and decided to remove the optional sweetener. The original intent was the first three flavors, and it probably does it's job better without the Jamaican Rum, even Cactus can be a bit taxing on the pallet. But the percentages are so low it still does it's job. If you're going to add sweetener however your beginning to get out of the realm of "pallet cleanser" and (with a percentage point bump on Jamaican Rum) into a full flavored recipe.
> What's the difference between Hungry and Horny? Where you put this Flavor of the Week: CUCUMBER!!!!
I've been making tweaks to this recipe for over a year now. I like it, and a handful of friends ask me to mix it for them all the time:
Coolcumber Mint
- FW Cucumber Mint 3%
- FA Cucumber 0.75%
- TFA Koolada 0.75%
- TFA Honeydew 0.25%
- INW Mixed Mint 0.25%
This is the sixth iteration and the one I've vaped the most of. FW Cucumber mint is a decent cuke/mint mix, a tad dry on it's own, and leaning towards spearmint for it's mint aspect. I bring out a bolder cucumber flavor with the addition of the FA Cucumber, more of that cuke-skin flavor. The smidge of honeydew has only once been called out by friends - "...is that honeydew?.." Otherwise, it adds just a hint more of that inside-the-cucumber fleshy taste.
I prefer this to be a cold vape, and the koolada may be high for some people's tastes, and with the FW's mint, the koolada and INW Mixed Mint, you get a cold cucumber-y minty refreshing summer vape that I always keep on hand during the summer months.
I've mixed this swapping the Mixed Mint w/ INW Eucalyptus Mint and while still good (and nose-freezing cold,) it wasn't my preferred mint. I had to really let it age for a long time before the euca mellowed out enough to not dominate the whole juice. I've been meaning to try mixing this up with INW Natural Mint which I've just recently been toying with.
Overall, this reminds me a lot of a 'cleanse' water my wife will make where she adds sliced cucumbers and fresh sprigs of mint to water, which she almost always has sitting in the fridge. She'll occasionally add a couple slices of lemon to her mix, and I've been meaning to try adding a little lemon or lime to this to see where it goes.
Put some lime in there and report back! (it sounds like such a nice addition to an already refreshing juice)
I'm actually burning through a 15ml bottle poured off of my bigger 120ml bottle right now. Guess I'll go move to the lab and mix a bit....but which lime would go best?
I have FA Cold Pressed, FA Tahiti/Distilled, and INW Lime on hand. I can imagine each being a good addition - Cold Pressed seems like it would go well with that "real fruits" aspect, similar thoughts w/ the INW, but I'm a dork for the FA Distilled's almost "lime ice" qualities, and think maybe that would be a better fit for this already cool mix.
Oh. I think I answered my own question...
Hi there, my cucumber friends.
I'm happy to share my favourite recipe with you guys.
Sweet Princess
-
Cactus (INAWERA) @ 0.33%
-
Cucumber (CAP) @ 2.75%
-
Dragonfruit (TPA) @ 1%
-
Koolada 10% (TPA) @ 0.5%
-
Peach (Juicy) (TPA) @ 5.5%
-
Sweetener (Sucralose) (TPA) @ 1.5%
It does ressemble that sort of gum, called "Turbo", which was produced by Turkish company back in 80s-90s and had a great success in CIS countries in my childhood. It's very refreshing and yet dessert. Yes, it has a lot of sweetener in it, but I came to this amount by gradual testing, I find it right.