Okra
Abelmoschus esculentus · Vegetable
Top 10 pairings
A ridged green seed pod picked young and crisp, okra tastes mild, grassy and faintly sweet. Cut and cooked, it releases slippery mucilage, the silky body of Louisiana gumbo, West African soups and Indian bhindi.
Picking a good onedrag
Bright, turgid, tip snaps cleanLimp, blackened, woody
Shop freshEveryday bestThe gumbo and bhindi pod. Whole and dry it stays firm; sliced, it gives the pot mucilage.
Colour and ridgesGreen, a scuff or two along a ridge
The tipSnaps, but takes a little more bend
Pod wall and seed lineFaint seed bumps down the seam
Smell at the broken tipFaintly green, close to neutral
What you get from one
86%
Edible part
12 g · crown and tip off
14 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below 7 C it pits and moulds. Keep it on the warmest shelf and eat it in 3-4 days.
90-95%
Humidity
Perforated bag, kept dry
Airflow