How Refrigeration Affects Cucumbers
When stored in the refrigerator for more than five days, cucumbers will often turn more mushy than appetizing. (The USDA’s FoodKeeper app also recommends cucumbers be consumed within four to six days for optimum freshness and quality.)
You may also find some supermarket cucumbers packaged in a thin polyethylene film, perforated to help with the natural shrinking process of the produce and allow for some breathability, according to experts at Sunset Grown Produce. Studies show that a naked cucumber will shrink as much as 3 percent due to water loss, so the film acts as both an insulator to protect against cold injury, dehydration, and spoilage.
If you’re buying cucumbers from a farmer’s market or harvesting them from your garden, the situation is a little different. These kinds of cucumbers will likely keep well for about 10 days in the fridge, says Suslow. Leave them in there until you plan to use them, as they’ll be subject to chilling injury if removed from the fridge and then returned.
