How to avoid a watery cucumber salad: A simple culinary trick

Mizeria is a Polish cucumber salad that we have eaten hundreds of times. Preparing this simple, classic dish is not difficult; it’s inexpensive, delicious, and loved by children, and in the summer, during the hottest days, it’s perfect as a refreshing addition to lunch. The problem is that despite this regularity of mizeria appearing on Polish tables, many people still don’t know how to prepare it correctly. The order in which ingredients are added is of huge importance. This determines whether our mizeria will be tasty or watery and completely flavourless.

That's how it is in the kitchen. The tiniest details often have the greatest significance. This rule also applies to preparing mizeria. Most people do it straightforwardly, without much thought. They grate or slice cucumbers, pour sour cream over them, and then add salt, mix, and done. Can mizeria be prepared this way? Sure, but the result won't be very good. And for a very simple reason.

Adding salt to cucumbers, even mixed with sour cream, always causes the same effect: Releasing the juices of the vegetables. In this case, it will just be water, which will dilute our salad and result in a "washed out" taste and a disastrous change in consistency. The result will be a bland mixture of cucumbers with no taste.

As we have already mentioned, the entire key lies in the proper order of preparing mizeria. First, we slice or grate the cucumbers; that’s obvious. Then we don’t add the sour cream immediately, but salt. We wait about ten to twenty minutes until the cucumbers release their juices, then gently remove the excess water from the bowl.

Now, all the water we didn’t want in our salad no longer threatens us. We can add sour cream and the rest of the spices. Thanks to this simple trick, mizeria will be more delicious than ever before. You can bet on it!