In Kyiv, it's morning. It seems there were no alarms last night, good. Finally, I wake up and check my phone: I read a report on the nighttime attacks: 3 cruise missiles were not shot down, which means they "landed" somewhere, killing people, destroying homes and lives. Unfortunately, this is our daily pain, which we hardly tell the outside world anymore. Instead, I look at my credit card bill and transfer the donation to where it's most important (because my new outfit can wait another 2 years). This money will be needed for the repair of evacuation vehicles, for turnstiles, for drones, for thermal cameras, for precision rifles - yes, also for rifles: because we have to defend ourselves, the barbarians are destroying everything in their path.
"This is a typical morning, so every Ukrainian does this, since the first day of the war."
And this is a typical morning, so does every Ukrainian, since the first day of war. The army is based on civic initiative, actions, means, and the lives of civilians, including cheesemakers, food producers, breeders, farmers, livestock raisers, pastry chefs, cooks, teachers, and university professors: all those I know who never imagined themselves at the front (perhaps only in the innocent games we played as children). But their farms are running because their wives need to work and survive.
The enemy is destroying us and we, on the other hand, between internal and external solidarity are trying to find resources to recover, a sense to survive, and hope for the future.
And this is why it has been difficult for me to write an article about the Nizhyn cucumber: I have collected motivation drop by drop because I haven’t thought about everyday life for such a long time.
The Universe breathes rhythm, as modern science and Ecclesiastes teach us, it has its ups and downs, there is a time to gather and a time to disperse, in an endless life-death-life cycle... "and this too shall pass..."
"The variety, a result of popular selection, became known in the 17th century when it began to be preferred for pickling cucumbers."
The Nizhyn cucumber is named after the ancient city of Nizhyn, located 130 km north of Kyiv. The variety, resulting from popular selection, became known in the 17th century when it began to be preferred for pickling cucumbers. However, it should be noted that the gastronomic traditions of peoples follow nature, and in winter in Ukraine, vegetables were consumed both pickled and salted, as well as roasted root vegetables. Therefore, the significance of a crunchy pickled cucumber for the table (and even for celebrations) is hard to describe. In my opinion, this blend of salty and sour flavors as a side dish for gorilka (vodka) is also reflected in the Mexican tradition of tequila (salt-lime).
The uniqueness of the variety is the high starch and sugar content, which ensures rapid fermentation, and is expressed in the cucumber already preserved with new aromatic notes, but not only that. The special water of the region (which has a naturally higher iron and chlorine content by 25-30 times compared to the norm), the mineral richness of the soil, and the ancient recipes for pickling cucumbers in barrels and preserving them in ice in cellars: all of this has ensured the popularity of the Nizhyn cucumber since the 18th century (distributed throughout the country, first by carts and then by rail, with hundreds of wagons per year).
"The Nizhyn Cucumber is characterized by its high starch and sugar content."
In the 1920s, a canning factory was built and cooperatives were created for the cultivation and production of pickled cucumbers. Before World War II, the cultivated area exceeded 1,500 hectares. The war destroyed the factory and the surrounding farms, but they were rebuilt soon after the war. And the cucumber was reborn again.
Life was in full swing around it: almost the entire population within a radius of 50-70 km from Nizhyn was involved in its cultivation, harvesting, pickling, delivery, and study. By 1980, a harvest of 11,000 tons was already expected, and the pickled Nizhyn became an export item from the USSR (now the carts with it were going to the West). And then... revenge for the monopoly arrived... because nature does not tolerate it.
Since the late 1980s, the cucumber has been practically destroyed by the epiphytotic outbreak of downy mildew, and along with it, an entire industry was destroyed; the plant failed, people left, but the memory of the Nizhyn Cucumber brand lives on.
And so, in the 2000s, based on Dutch varieties, a new brand "Nizhyn" was created, under which the "heirs" of the great glory of a different genotype, but grown on the same land, are sold.
Ukrainian scientists do not give up, supporting and restoring the original variety. Slow Food in Ukraine has launched a pilot project for commercial revival, a project that is still very difficult because the community itself needs to realize and see prospects for cucumber cultivation, which also requires pollination (unlike Dutch varieties), because where there is life, where there is nature, everything is connected. So far, it is somewhat expensive, but we do not give up! We can only see the stars at night: during the day we do not need them. Night opens the direction of the path through great people, great ideas, great events, paths to understand oneself and the world, paths to oneself. I believe that this night of war reveals a lot to us, including the new fate of the Nizhyn Cucumber.