Okra

Abelmoschus esculentus · Vegetable

40 pairings

Okra is the immature seed pod of a tall tropical mallow, picked young and tender while still green and crisp. Ridged and tapering to a point, with a mild grassy, faintly sweet flavour, it is prized above all for the slippery mucilage it releases — the silky body of Louisiana gumbo, the soul of West African soups and the heart of Indian bhindi.

Picking a good onedrag

Bright, turgid, tip snaps cleanLimp, blackened, woody

Shop freshThe gumbo, bhindi and soup pod. Left whole and dry it stays firm; sliced, it gives the pot the mucilage you came for.Everyday best

Colour and ridgesGreen, a scuff or two along a ridge

The tipSnaps, but takes a little more bend

Pod wall and seed lineSeeds as faint bumps down the seam

Smell at the broken tipFaintly green, close to neutral

What to look for, from bright, turgid, tip snaps clean to limp, blackened, woody.

What one gives you

86%

Usable yield

12 g · crown and tip off

14 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Keeping ittap a band

Chilling sensitive: below 7 C the pod pits, water-soaks and moulds. A 4 C fridge is already too cold, so use the warmest shelf and eat it in 3-4 days.

Humidity

90-95%

Pods lose weight readily and toughen as they shrivel, so AH-66 asks for over 90% RH: bag them, but keep the pod surface itself dry.

Airflow

Perforated bag, kept dry

Loose or perforated, never sealed damp. Keep it clear of onions, potatoes and melons - AH-66 warns the pods trap their odours and go off-flavoured.

Yellows next to ripening fruit

AH-66 marks okra ethylene sensitive: over 1 ppm for three days or more yellows the pods, so keep them away from apples, bananas and melons.

Preparing