How do I tell when okra is ready?

[key west chick]

Yummmm, okra! Fried with a big piece of cornbread, and crowder peas!!! Yep, we cut ours when they are about 3-4 inches. Sometimes smaller if we have tons.

 

[ginbart]

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I don't know but I bet it doesn't taste as good as a pickled egg.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

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Exactly what I was thinking. 3 to 4 inches and it is tender and yummy and yes the more you pick the more it produces.

debiraymond----> you just hadn't had some good ol' southern fried seasoned okra lately, have ya?

 

[Acre of Blessings]

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I don't know but I bet it doesn't taste as good as a pickled egg.

Well there is only one way to find out then isn't there, Ginbart.

 

[ivan3]

To simplify processing and keep the slime, and oil from cooking, to a minimum: Half-freeze the pods before slicing into equal/thin sections. Have a gallon ziplock half-filled with corn meal ready and dump the slices in the bag and shake well, then freeze. Continue to add to the bag's contents as you pick.

When ready to cook (have oil heated - a few drops of bacon fat for flavor), dump contents of bag into collander to remove excess meal from okra slices. Cook fast, dump golden brown okra onto paper towels over newspaper on cookie pan and hold in 150° oven until ready to serve (pref. with smoked pork ribs, black-eyed peas and some fried green tomatoes).

Hate the stuff in gumbo, but fried is about as good as veggies get.

 

[FireTigeris]

am I the only one that likes Okra and tomatoes?

- where do I find them and what soil type?

 

[SallyF]

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Noooo you're not! We can ours that way. Nothing better than okra and tomatoes over rice. If you've ever lived in South Carolina, you've had it that way! BTW, I like to pick them about 4 inches. Sometimes, if we have a lot, I pick them even smaller. I don't bread or slice the little ones, just saute them. Yummy.

 

[SallyF]

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If you've ever lived in Charleston SC, you've had okra and tomatoes. We can ours that way each summer. Nothing better than okra & tomatoes over rice. I've grown it in sandy soil in SC and in Tennessee clay-based soil. It's a native of Africa, I believe, and loves full sun and hot weather.

 

[redhen]

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When it hits the garbage can

lol...i was gonna say that...

 

[Tala]

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Nope you aren't!! Last year I grew lots of homegrown tomatoes, and after we'd eaten our fill of them and had plenty leftover I just couldn't get in the mood to eat them without some okra!!!!!!! This year I swore to plant okra so I could eat my tomatoes