Cucumbers are quintessentially British – after all, how could we make our iconic cucumber sandwiches without them? – but their refreshing flavour works incredibly well with vibrant Asian cuisine, particularly southeast Asian. A relatively quick pickle makes the vegetable a perfect side to sesame salmon and sticky coconut rice, as shown by blogger Georgina Fuggle, while chef Paul Welburn makes a very cheffy cucumber ketchup out of juice, Chadonnay vinegar and shallots for his Lemongrass-smoked cod, mussels and sea vegetables dish. Food Urchin once again uses heat to bring out the flavour of cucumber in his Vietnamese seafood and cucumber stir-fry, quickly frying batons in a fragrant mixture of shrimp paste, chilli, garlic and spring onion.

We pop a slice in our gin and tonic and chop up a whole stick for Pimm’s, so it’s no wonder chefs are using cucumbers in sweet dishes. When pickled, it can add an interesting savoury note, as in Agnar Sverrisson’s White chocolate mousse and sorbet with dill and cucumber – the sharp cubes of cucumber contrast perfectly with the smooth, sweet white chocolate. The vegetable also pairs particularly well with strawberries; try Food Urchin’s Cucumber panna cotta with strawberries, lemon thyme and honeycomb for a dish that really encapsulates the British summer.

A high water content makes cucumber the perfect candidate for turning into a sorbet in both a sweet and savoury context. As a dessert, make the sorbet the main event – transform Pimm’s from a summer drink to a show-stopping dessert with chef Josh Eggleton’s iconic Pimm’s jelly with cucumber sorbet. For something savoury, Russell Bateman brings the wow factor with his Cucumber and yoghurt sorbet with citrus-cured salmon, charred cucumber and pickled cucumber, making the most of the vegetable’s versatility.

For something entirely different, try Italian chef Andrea Berton’s mind-bending dish of Grilled watermelon, aubergine, chocolate crumbs, cucumber and ginger sorbet – a sweet-meets-savoury dessert which makes the most of cucumber’s refreshing, clean flavour.

Blending or juicing a cucumber leaves you with a fragrant, fresh liquid that’s ideal for adding to soups – especially iced ones for the summer months. Marcus Wareing’s White gazpacho is a nutty, garlicky, yoghurt-based shot of flavour which relies on blitzed cucumbers to lighten the taste. Matthew Tomkinson follows suit, combining horseradish, herbs, cucumber and mascarpone to make a cold soup to serve with his crab salad. For an even simpler, dish, Andy Waters simply blends cucumbers with mint, coriander, sherry vinegar and Tabasco to serve with crumbled feta cheese in his easy summer recipe.