The difference between crisp and pickling cucumber, and how zucchini fits alongside them in Turkey's August vegetable calendar.
Cucumber has been grown in Anatolia's cooler-climate regions for centuries, and modern greenhouse technology now keeps it on tables fresh year-round — but the variety grown for your salad bowl and the variety grown for a pickle jar aren't the same plant at all. Cucumber's pickling type reaches its single peak in August, right alongside zucchini in our August harvest guide.
Crisp cucumber: bred for the salad bowl
Crisp cucumber is grown under greenhouse conditions in Antalya and Mersin, trained vertically up a wire system that keeps fruit evenly shaped and easier to harvest. Its smooth, cylindrical shape and thin, glossy dark green skin are usually eaten unpeeled, and its crisp texture and low seed content make it the standard choice for salads and yogurt-based dips. It's available essentially year-round from greenhouse production, with a spring peak rather than August's.
Kornişon (pickling cucumber): small on purpose
Kornişon, or pickling cucumber, is a completely different growing approach: it's mostly open-field, row-planted, and picked by hand at frequent intervals while still small and firm — the small size isn't immaturity, it's the point. Its bumpy skin and firm structure are exactly what let it hold its shape through fermented or vinegar-based pickle production, and this open-field crop is what peaks in August.
Zucchini: the same summer window, a different plant entirely
Zucchini (summer squash) is one of the oldest vegetables in Anatolian agriculture, grown in both open fields and under cover with a non-vining, semi-bushy habit that allows multiple harvests from a single plant. It's picked young, while the skin is still thin, which benefits both flavor and shelf life; its light green, cylindrical, thin-skinned fruit shows up in squash stews, fritters, and stuffed dishes across Turkish home cooking. Zucchini shares kornişon's August peak, closing out the same open-field summer window.
You can visit our Cucumber and Zucchini product pages for full variety, caliber, and packaging detail, and our Turkish vegetable export guide for how these fit alongside tomato, pepper, and eggplant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between crisp cucumber and kornişon?
Crisp cucumber is greenhouse-grown, smooth-skinned, and picked at full size for fresh eating; kornişon (pickling cucumber) is open-field grown and picked small and firm on purpose, specifically for pickle production.
When is Turkish zucchini at its peak?
Zucchini peaks in August, the same open-field summer window as pickling cucumber (kornişon).