Did you know that the okra plant is the cousin to the hibiscus, hollyhock and cotton plant? I did not. I do know that I have seen movies of people picking cotton and how bloody their fingers became and how scratched their arms were, so it makes sense that okra would be related!! When I pick okra, I put on a long- sleeved shirt and wear heavy, leather gloves because I get scratched and itchy after one measly row. It may be 110 degrees outside and I’ll still cover up like a bee keeper going after honey!

Okra originated in Ethiopia and was also cultivated by ancient Egyptians. In the Middle East they ate the pods but also roasted and ground the seeds for “coffee”. They still do today. The okra was probably brought to this country through slave-trade from Africa and the vegetable was especially embraced by the Cajun community in Louisianna where the slaves showed them how to use the sliminess of the cut pods to thicken soups. The native word for okra sounds like “gumbo”, hence the Creole name for the soup that is made with okra.

We always grow plenty of okra, as we like it fried, boiled, sauteed and in soups. One thing is for sure…you have to stay on top of it or the pods become inedible pretty quickly. Picking is an everyday process and even then, you can miss a pod or two. When they get too big, they become tough and fibery. Mature okra is used to make rope and paper, so you can imagine how awful it is when too large. However, okra is a great source of vitamin C, A, B complex, Iron, Calcium and Fiber. And it’ fat free!! That is, unless you cook it the way we southerners think is the only way – fried. Yum.

The following is a tutorial on how to freeze okra, with a great recipe for an okra side dish. All photos can be enlarged by left clicking on them.

Cutting okra requires gloves and a long-sleeved shirt.

To test for toughness, make a slight cut into the pod. The knife should easily slice through the surface.

Okra flower

The okra pods will be various sizes and you can separate them according to the sizes for particular cooking methods. The smaller pods are great for boiled okra with butter and salt. The medium sizes are great for pickling and all sizes are suitable for frying and soups.

To freeze your okra for frying, cut the pods into bite sized pieces and place into a deep container that can be covered.

Add enough milk to the container to coat the pieces. I like to use buttermilk. Don’t worry about using too much, because you can drain off any excess.

Cover and shake to coat.

Next, add half a cup of flour and a half a cup of cornmeal. Cover the container and shake to coat the okra pieces.

This okra needs more covering so I will add equal amounts of more flour and cornmeal. I do not add salt until after I have cooked okra because salt can make the crust tough.

Cover and shake again. This okra is adequately coated.

Pour okra into shallow cake pans for small freezers, or onto cookie sheets for larger freezers and spread evenly over the surface. Freeze.

When the okra is frozen hard, using hands or slotted spoon, sift frozen okra and place into freezer bags and label. Freeze leftover coating for future okra.

Uncoated okra can be frozen the same way for soups and for the recipe that follows. Do not pre-scald okra to freeze, but just freeze it fresh off the stalk. Placing the pieces on a shallow dish to pre-freeze makes it easy to take out only the amount that you wish to use for each meal. The pieces are not clumped together in a big mess.

One of my favorite ways to make okra was taught me by my mother-in-law who never measured anything. She just brought a basket of goodies in from the garden and started throwing things together. Her version of “Okra and Tomatoes” is great. She used fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and okra from the garden, but “store-bought” is just fine.

You need one good-sized tomato per person, chopped into small pieces
Around 6 medium okra pods per person
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp real butter or 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup of grated or shredded parmesan cheese, depending on taste
Salt to taste

In a saucepan, saute onion in butter or olive oil until onions are transparent. I use olive oil.

Add garlic and stir.

Add tomatoes and okra and stir until heated.

Lower heat and cover to simmer until okra is tender – about 15 minutes. (a little longer for larger amounts)

Add salt to taste and quickly toss with parmesan cheese to taste. Immediately remove from heat and serve as a side vegetable.

Yummy! Dig in!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Canning and Food Processing, Let's Cook!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.