Okra,
also called gumbo or lady fingers, is a plant grown for its fibrous
pods full of round, white seeds, which, when picked young, are eaten as a vegetable. It was formerly considered
a species of Hibiscus. The word okra
is of African origin.
How
to grow okra
Okra
was brought to the United States via the African slave trade
route, and flourished in the South. It can be grown throughout the South and into
the Southwest and will tolerate poor soils (with heavy clay) and intermittent moisture;
it only grows when there is available water, but can survive severe drought conditions
in all but its seedling stage. Add the fact that few garden pests show any interest
in the plant, and you have a great garden vegetable.
Okra
seeds should be soaked overnight before planting. They should then be planted
an inch deep in your poorest rock-free soil. Plant when the ground has thoroughly
warmed up, after your tomatoes are flowering. Germination ranges from six
days (soaked seeds) to three weeks (dry seeds watered in followed by cool spell).
Water seedlings well and they will reward you in their maturity. Okra is among
the most heat- and drought-tolerant vegetables in the world.
The
best okra, like almost all vegetables, is young and fresh right out of the garden.
Okra gets very woody when it gets too mature, so it is best to pick often, even
if you stick it in the refrigerator for a few days until you are ready to eat
it. Okra is one of the most popular vegetables in late 20th century Japanese cuisine.
Preparation
Okra
may be steamed until tender, either whole or sliced about 1/2 half inch thick.
Okra can also be boiled with tomatoes or fried in a cornmeal batter. Okra can
also be the thickening agent in gumbo; when cooked, it has the same
mucilaginous properties as nopales (the pads of
the prickly pear).
It can also be pickled.
Other
food plants called okra
Some
other food plants have been given common names alluding to their similarities
to okra:
References
