There are many foods and ingredients that elicit strong opinions among eaters, often based on one unpleasant sensory experience due to poor preparation and not the food itself. Okra, a mucilaginous member of the Mallow family, is no stranger.
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) flower with purple center and white petals on a green stalk. CHRSC Community Garden, Pawleys Island, SC.
Chase Baillie, ©2023, Clemson Extension
The natural sugars and soluble fiber contained in the plant, known as mucilage, are what cause okra to sometimes be gooey and slimy. This can be desirable as a thickener in soups, stews, and gumbos, but also offensive to some. However, it is possible to significantly reduce the slime factor, depending on the method of preparation and cooking. Keeping the pods whole, dicing and adding to your favorite cornmeal batter for muffins, hushpuppies, fritters, and skillet cornbread, or adding an acid, such as in pickling, can transform the once offensive, slimy okra into a unique snack or condiment palatable to even the most sensitive critics. Try the following raw pack water bath canning pickle recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia. Note: Peppers can be omitted. If pickles are not processed in a water bath or steam canner, the product may be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
Cornbread in a round cast iron pan, The word Okra displayed in the corn bread, made with pieces of okra pods.
Chase Baillie, ©2023, Clemson Extension
Okra Pickles in a mason jar, sitting on wooden cutting board with pickled okra pods displayed in front of the jar.
Chase Baillie, ©2023, Clemson Extension
Pickled Dilled Okra
7 lbs small okra pods
6 small hot peppers
4 tsp dill seed
8 to 9 garlic cloves
2/3 cup canning or pickling salt
6 cups water
6 cups vinegar (5 percent)
Yield: 8 to 9 pints
Procedure: Wash and trim okra. Fill jars firmly with whole okra, leaving ½-inch headspace. Place 1 garlic clove in each jar. Combine salt, hot peppers, dill seed, water, and vinegar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour hot pickling solution over okra, leaving ½-inch headspace. Process pints in a boiling water bath canner for the following times based on altitude. (Feet above sea level)
10 minutes: 0-1,000 ft 15 minutes: 1,001-6,000 ft 20 minutes: Above 6,000 ft
If okra has been on the list of “foods I don’t eat,” maybe it’s time to revisit and experiment with this or one of the many other transformative methods of preparation. Whether fresh, frozen, raw, boiled, steamed, sauteed, fried, in a gumbo, jambalaya, succotash, stewed with tomatoes, dehydrated, freeze-dried, pickled, or in a favorite cornmeal batter, okra can be enjoyed year-round by just about everyone willing to give it a chance, barring any allergies of course.
If you decide to experiment with okra, we welcome you to share that experience as a comment on our Carolina Canning Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/carolinacanning. For more information on safe and effective food preservation and preparation, see the Home and Garden Information Center website (clemson.edu/hgic). In addition to web-based resources, Food Systems and Safety agents across the state offer classes, outreach, and support to the public related to Food Systems, Safety, and Preservation throughout the year. For more information about upcoming extension programs, stay tuned to the Clemson Extension events page at https://www.clemson.edu/extension/events/index.html and filter by the topic area or region you are interested in.
