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Okra is a vegetable that is part of the same family as cotton, mallow and hibiscus.
The Okra plant is an annual one, growing up to 6 feet (180 cm) tall with heart-shaped leaves. It needs a hot growing season to produce the pods which are eaten. It blooms with large, yellow flowers, and pods appear quickly afterwards. They are ready to harvest when they are 3 to 5 days old. Beyond that, they get tough very quickly. In all, the pods are harvested about 60 days after the plant has been started from seed.
The pods are ribbed and long, anywhere from 2 to 7 inches long (5 to 18 cm) with smooth, but fuzzy skin.
Their flavour is somewhere between eggplant and either green beans or asparagus. When cooked, Okra turns "viscous" or "mucilaginous". The nicest plain translation of that would be "sticky"; the most straight up might be "slimy". The more you cook it, the slimier it gets. This allows Okra to act as a natural thickener in dishes.
Sometimes Okra seeds are used to make cooking oil from.
Varieties include Burgundy, Dark Green Long Pod, Emerald and Perkins Spineless. Okra is very popular in the Southern US.
When buying fresh, choose pods 3 to 4 inches long (7.5 to 10 cm). Any that are longer than that will be getting on the tough side. The pods should be dry, free of bruises, have a good pale green colour, and be firm enough to easily snap. You can also buy it frozen or canned.
Cooking Tips
Okra is never eaten raw. It's not usually served on its own, except when fried up covered in corn meal -- this is a very popular side dish. It won't go sticky when cooked like this.
Wash just before you cook it. If very fuzzy, rub between a tea towel. To cook whole with a minimum of the sticky juice getting out, do just the thinnest trim you can on the stem end. While you might be tempted to cut larger ones up further, there should be no need to slice the small ones at all. When adding to a stew or soup where you want the juice to act as a thickener, cut the Okra into small pieces.
Okra can be baked, boiled, grilled, microwaved, steamed and cooked in dishes such as soups, stews and of course, gumbos. It shouldn't take more than 3 to 5 minutes to cook. Don't cook in iron, copper or aluminum as those metals will affect the colour of the Okra.
Nutrition
100g = 30 calories. Good source vitamin C and A and folate
Equivalents
10 pods = 100 grams = 3.5 oz
1 pound fresh = 450g = approx 2 cups sliced
1 x 10 oz (280g) frozen package = 1 1/4 cups when sliced
1 x 16 oz (475 ml) can = 1 3/4 cups when sliced and drained
Storage
Store unwashed in fridge in a plastic bag for up to 3 days. Washing Okra before storing it will cause it to go gummy. It can be dried to preserve it, and then used in cooked dishes.
History
Okra is native to Northwest Africa, though some believe it was possibly in Asia or Ethiopia before that. It was being used in Egypt by the 1100s.
One story has Okra being brought to America by slaves from Africa, who smuggled the seeds in their hair. Other stories have it being brought to the Southern US by French colonists in the early 1700s.
It was introduced into Brazil by the 1600s.
Also called:  Bamia
Bamie
Ladies' Fingers
Ladyfingers
Ngumbo
Ochro
Okro
Quiabo
Quingombo Hibiscus esculentus (Scientific Name) Gombaud, Gombo, Okra (French) Gombo, Ocra, Quimbombo (Spanish)
See Also
Gumbo
Other entries for Viscous Vegetables
Cactus Leaves, Okra, Viscous Vegetables
Other entries for Vegetables
Agave, Artichokes, Asparagus, Brassica Family, Canned Vegetables, Cardoons, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Frozen Vegetables, Garlic, Gourds, Herbed Vinegars, Horseradish Tree, Hoshi Shiitake, Leafy Vegetables, Lotus, Mixed Vegetables, Mushrooms, Pak Wan, Peas, Peppers, Root Vegetables, Sago Palm, Seaweed, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Tomatoes
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