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Monday, October 13, 2014

The Nutrition of Okra & Other Lore

Okra is truly a southern vegetable. Not many people we have met from the north or in Alaska, have eaten okra. Some had not heard of it, and most didn't even know what it looks like. There are a variety of ways to fix okra. Some like it in gumbo, which we have not had, some like it fried and some like it pickled. Then there is okra and tomatoes, which Frank has eaten back in one of his last lives. Okra is a heat loving plant. It doesn't do well in cool, cloudy weather. Until it gets hot and sunny, okra doesn't grow well here in Zone 7. Historically speaking, more food is fried in the south than in the north, and fresh fried okra is one of our favorite summertime meals. We fry our okra in olive oil, which is the only type of oil we use.

 
One of the easiest ways to preserve okra is to freeze it. We like to wash, slice and coat it with cornmeal, fill up a quart size freezer bag and it's good to go. We have also canned okra for frying before. There are a lot of different opinions out there about the safest way to can okra so it is still good to fry. You will have to decide about that for yourself. But, as always, follow tested, recommended procedures.

By the way, our experiment with cutting back the okra plants when they get too tall to reach is going very well. The plants have bushed out at the bottom with numerous side branches. These lower branches are really starting to produce quite well, so I feel like we are getting a second harvest in the fall. It's very interesting, especially since it has been so successful. I put another three quarts of sliced okra in the freezer today.

The nutritional information I am going to provide is for raw okra. If you go to the website, you can search for okra and find the nutritional values for boiled but not fried. The nutrients included in 1 cup of raw okra are:

  • calories 31
  • carbohydrates 7.0g
  • protein 2.9g
  • vitamin A, C, K
  • niacin
  • folate
  • choline
  • calcium 
  • magnesium
  • potassium
  • phosphorus
  • phytosterols
  • omega-6 fatty acids

I find it interesting to see how many vegetables contain vitamins A, C, & K; along with a fair amount of calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. When I finish this nutritional series, it will be interesting to see what combination of vegetables provide a fairly balanced daily vitamin and/or mineral source.


We have all grown up knowing that our vegetables are 'good for us'. How many times did we hear that as kids? Now that we are growing some of our own food, it means more to us to know what we are getting out of what we grow. Add that to growing open pollinated or heirloom varieties, without chemical additives and the nutritional content of each plant increases. How much, I don't know, but I know the dirt our vegetables grow in are full of worms, organic matter, wood ashes and barnyard. That in itself doesn't sound very appetizing, but the food it produces sure is. There was a very good casserole at our Sunday luncheon at church last month that had okra, squash, potatoes and onions in it. I'm not sure exactly how they cooked it or seasoned it, but I will find out and let you know, because it was very good. What is your favorite okra story? Please share with us in the comments below.

Until next time - Fern

22 comments:

  1. We like to toss the okra pods in olive oil, salt, and pepper and then grill them. DELICIOUS! We have to fix alot to be able to serve it with a meal because we eat it as we cook it!

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    1. I have never heard of that, Mary. Very interesting! Frank and I can make a meal of a pan of fried okra. That's all we have. It's a great meal. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  2. Okra grows really well for us here in East Texas. Many ways to eat okra... I sautee it up with just about everything that get's sauteed when it is in season in our garden. Can't seem to grow enough to freeze or can.... we just eat it up.

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    1. Shannon, we have yet to saute okra, but it will be on our things to try list. It's funny how three short rows of okra can provide you will a meal almost everyday and enough to freeze. Thank you for the comment.

      Fern

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  3. We eat okra fried, boiled, in gumbo and okra salad. Okra salad contains fried okra, tomatoes, bell peppers, green onions and garlic salt. Oh, and crumbled bacon!!

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    1. Traditionally, we have always been a fried okra family, but we learn new things everyday, so we will try some different recipes. Thank you for reading, and thanks for the comment.

      Fern

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  4. I'm a market grower here in E TN and can't grow enough okra because of the demand. Interestingly, only Southerners buy it. Northern transplants won't touch it!

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    1. Interesting comment. When we lived in Alaska, you could still buy breaded frozen okra in the bigger town grocery stores. But most folks that we knew wouldn't even try it. It's just funny how different people from different parts of the country have different taste buds. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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    2. Funny. My granddaddy was from the south and my midwestern mother grew up eating okra. The only okra we had as kids was the little "gumbos" in the canned chicken gumbo soup. I've raised it in the past but haven't yet introduced it at our new place. Bough some seeds and will be trying it next year.

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  5. Can you tell me when to harvest my radish seed? This is my first time harvesting radish seeds, the pods are good size but it's rained here for the passed 5 days and the weather report shows atleast 5 more days of rain. Can they be pulled and hung to dry in the barn?
    Thank you
    Sue

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    1. I do not have a clue how to harvest radish seeds. We do grow radishes, but it is a companion plant as a means of pest control. Maybe some of the other readers could offer recommendations on how to harvest radish seeds. Even though Frank refuses to put a radish in his mouth, it would be nice to know how to harvest the seeds. Thank you for the question, maybe we'll get some answers.

      Fern

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  6. We also love okra--my husband insists he wants to plant an okra plantation in order to have enough! We eat it many of the ways already mentioned (can't wait for the casserole recipe), but just this week tried a new way that a coworker from St. John's Island told me about. It is essentially cornmeal mush with very lightly boiled sliced okra added in. Served with spicy stewed chicken or steamed fish. The husband likened it to grits with okra. Different but very good. Google "Carribbean Okra Fungi" for directions.
    judydee

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    1. Judydee, wouldn't that be a pretty picture, a whole field of little trees with pretty yellow flowers on them? Kind of like an okra forest? Thank you for the recipe, we will look into it. We did learn this year that we could whack the top of the plant off as it grew tall, and then the lower portion would bush and produce more okra. Always something new to learn.

      Fern

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  7. When I lived in Missouri, my brother, an avid gardener who lived in Nebraska, grew okra and cut and shipped some quart bags of it to me. We had both grown up in Missouri and LOVED friend okra. Now I live in Nebraska, and my husband has grown okra just for me. Like you said, northern folks just don't seem to take to okra. When I fry it, I end up eating it just out of the pan, husband is lucky to get a bite!

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    1. Joy, when okra starts putting on, one of our favorite meals is a big plate of fried okra and fried green tomatoes cut nice and thin. I can't eat a lot of green tomatoes at one sitting, but I really enjoy the fried okra and separately fried green tomatoes. The northern folks don't eat a lot of fried green tomatoes either, but then I've never developed a taste for any type of chowder. Nothing wrong with chowder, though. Joy, thank you for the comment and thank you for reading.

      Fern

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  8. You know how you have to cut it every day? My 8 year old asked me :Mom, why are there people starving, why don't they just grow okra?" Out of the mouths of babes.

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    1. Hello. That is a very philosophical question. Why don't people grow their own food? Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  9. This is the first time I have had anything to do with growing Okra. I add it to a lot of things I want a bit thicker and of course fry it in cornmeal which Ralph enjoys. I dehydrated 3 quarts this year. I over dried some whole okra and the y turned out like blacken alien seed pods! I painted them into Santa Christmas ornaments! Look up Okra Santa's online, they are fun!

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    1. Fiona, I really never gave thought to using okra as a Christmas decoration. It is nice to be able to turn lemons into lemonade, though. Thank you for all your comments.

      Frank

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  10. I can't stand the stuff, I guess because I didn't grow up in the South. I wish I liked it, because it sure seems to be the easiest thing to grow in Oklahoma.

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    1. Kathi, have you tried it breaded in cornmeal and fried real crisp? It's a whole lot different than pickled, or what I call slimy okra. I like pickled okra, Frank won't touch it, but he can eat a barrel of fried okra. Thanks for sharing.

      Fern

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    2. Thanks, Fern, I'll have to try it.

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