cucumbers - male and female flowers?

[kippers garden]

i'm growing some outdoor cucumbers but i am really confused over the flowers.  The seed packets says you don't need to remove male flowers but lots of books say you do need to as male flowers produce bitter cucumbers.

How do you know which are male flowers and why don't i need to remove them on my seeds?

Pls can someone help me.

[kippers garden]

[Robert_Brenchley]

You can leave all the flowers on ridge cucumbers, as they need pollination. Greenhouse cucumbers turn bitter if they're pollinated, so you remove the male flowers just in case.

[growmore]

Male flowers  grow on a thin stem ,,Female flowers have a little cucumber at the back of them.. The usual practice was to remove male flowers as cucumbers that had been pollinated were very bitter..I am trialling a cucumber this year that as it says on the packet you leave all flowers on .Normally I only grow all female F! strains. cheers Jim

[kippers garden]

Thanks both