Marinated cucumbers

To slice rounds without them rolling under the knife, pull the knife back through the cut rather than chopping straight down, or tilt the blade very slightly so slices fall away to the side. Halve or quarter lengthwise first for half or quarter moons.

Keep the guiding hand in a claw with the knuckles out; the knife rides on the knuckles and the speed the fingers move back sets the thickness.

Split an American cucumber, trim the ends and scrape out the watery seeds with the tip of a spoon.

For a salad, peel the cucumber (fully, or in stripes for looks), trim the ends, halve lengthwise, remove the seeds, quarter lengthwise and cut into chunky pieces.

In a bowl, season with salt, about a tablespoon of white wine vinegar per cucumber and about twice as much extra virgin olive oil; toss and taste until tangy, salty and well seasoned. Optionally add sliced red onion or shallot.

Refrigerate; keeps up to a couple of days and the cucumbers become crunchier than fresh and absorb flavour.

Variation: for matchsticks, slice an English cucumber about an eighth of an inch thick on a mandolin, stack three slices at a time and cut across into matchsticks.

Variation: for a spiral cut, set a Persian cucumber between two chopsticks, make parallel cuts down to the chopsticks, flip and cut at 45 degrees down to the chopsticks, then stretch it into an accordion that takes up dressing such as chili oil, vinegar and a little sugar.