Cucumber hack: Why adding sugar makes it taste like watermelon

We don't usually eat cucumbers in this way. It's not a combination that would typically make your mouth water, but only seemingly so. It turns out that a cucumber can be turned into a watermelon. All it takes is one addition.

Experiments, life hacks, and tricks—social media loves this type of content, and followers expect more surprises, shocking discoveries, or life-changing tips. Even though many of these presented ideas are nonsense, the one with the cucumber and the well-known spice indeed caused a big stir.

Have you ever tried combining cucumber with sugar? Just sprinkle the cucumber with this sweet condiment and eat it? It certainly won’t change your life, but it will definitely surprise, amaze, and make you want to seek explanations. The theory that sprinkling sugar on a cucumber makes it taste like watermelon has been circulating the internet for a long time.

This experiment has also taken social media by storm, with numerous creators trying to determine if combining cucumber and sugar results in a watermelon flavor. It turns out there’s a method to this madness. However, it’s not as mysterious or strange as it might seem because cucumber and watermelon have a lot in common.

The explanation is very simple—both are related. Watermelon and cucumber are members of the same plant family known as Cucurbitaceae. Both are composed of over 90% water, which makes them taste similar. Watermelon, however, contains significantly more sugar than cucumber, which explains why a cucumber sprinkled with sugar resembles the taste of watermelon. Also, the green part of the watermelon can be reminiscent of cucumber due to the lack of intense sweetness characteristic of the red interior of the watermelon.