Cucumbers, peeled and quartered
Flour
Butter for frying
Sliced onions (optional)
Stock or water (”gravy”)
Pepper
Salt

Peel and cut cucumbers in quarters, take out the seeds, and lay them on a cloth to drain off the water; when they are dry, flour and fry them in fresh butter; let the butter be quite hot before you put in the cucumbers; fry them till they are brown, then take them out with an egg-slice [spatula or slotted spoon] and lay them on a sieve to drain the fat from them (some cooks fry sliced onions, or some small button onions, with them, till they are a delicate light-brown color, drain them from the fat, and then put them into a stew-pan with as much gravy as will cover them): stew slowly till they are tender, take out the cucumbers with a slice, thicken the gravy with flour and butter, give it a boil up, season it with pepper and salt, and put in the cucumbers; as soon as they are warm, they are ready.

The above, rubbed through a tamis or fine sieve, will be entitled to be called “cucumber sauce.  This is a very favorite sauce with lamb or mutton-cutlets, stewed rump-steaks, &c.

The Cook’s Oracle by William Kitchiner, MD, New York, 1829

Comment: This is the companion recipe to Dr. Kitchiner’s “Vulgar Cucumbers,” which gets its name because it does not undergo the purifying ritual of cooking but sits there on the table in a raw and uncouth state. The same vegetable, treated as directed above, becomes an elegant addition to the upper class dining regime. To remove the seeds from cucumber cut them in half longways and run a large tablespoon down the middle to scoop out the offending particles.

It may seem excessive to both batter and fry the cucumber pieces, and then to also boil them in stock before serving. Or at least a bit peculiar to perform these operations in that order. We must refer you to Dr. Kitchiner for answers to your questions, and if by some means you manage to make contact with him, let us know because we have some other questions as well.

          

Cucumbers, raw, sliced
Onions, sliced
Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

The ordinary method of cutting cucumbers into slices with raw onions, served up in vinegar, and seasoned with salt and pepper, is most vulgar and most unwholesome. In their season they are cheap and plenty; and as they are crude and unripe they require the stomach of an ostrich to digest them. They cause much sickness in their season, creating choleras, cramps, and dysenteries. If stewed or boiled as directed [in "Cucumbers Stewed"] they would be more nutritious and wholesome.

Cucumbers may also be cut into quarters and boiled like asparagus, and served up with toasted bread and melted butter. This is a most delicate way or preparing cucumbers for the dinner table, and they are a most luscious article, and so rich and savory that a small quantity will suffice.

The Cook’s Oracle by William Kitchiner, MD, New York, 1829

Comment: Do you get the feeling that Dr. Kitchiner does not much care for uncooked cucumbers? That is certainly our impression, although we think he goes rather overboard, particularly given his stature as a physician, in blaming them for “choleras, cramps and dysenteries,” or at least the first and the last of that list. In his defense, on the other hand, it should be noted that nobody had any idea what caused cholera or dysenteries in 1829, the notion of “germ theory” lying somewhat in his future.

In any case we have added the “Vulgar” to the title of this receipt to differentiate it from the “Stewed Cucumbers” since the two methods of dealing with the object are listed in his book together as a single recipe. The question of whether the vegetable is to be peeled is evidently left to the discretion of the cook.