Okra Varieties and Uses

The previous entry discussed growing okra in the home garden, today’s post takes a look at a few great okra varieties for the home gardener, along with ideas for preparing and cooking these delicious home grown pods.

Unique Okra Varieties for the Home Garden

If you enjoy growing heirloom vegetables, planting okra will provide many opportunities to grow more than just the routine Clemson Spineless types of okra. Other interesting okra varieties include the following:

  • Red Burgundy - Four foot tall plants with six to eight inch maroon pods, some of the color even extends into the plant’s leaves and stems.
  • Silver Queen Okra - Tall six foot plants produce tender pale whitish-green pods.
  • Star of David - This Israeli heirloom grows pods that have a very unique shape and strong flavor from okra plants reaching up to seven feet.
  • Alabama Red - A heirloom okra originating from the state of Alabama produces unusual fat red pods.
  • Cow Horn - This giant okra variety can grow eight feet tall and supply the cook with large yields of slender pods reaching ten inches in length without becoming woody.
  • Louisiana Short - A prolific producer of tasty and extremely plump six-inch pods.
  • Hill Country Heirloom Red - This okra variety is a Texas heirloom with attractive reddish-green pods.
  • Burmese Okra - An early yielder, this heirloom from Burma will continue producing pods for the kitchen until fall frosts arrive.
  • Jade - High yields of early maturing dark green okra pods on four foot tall plants.
  • Emerald - Early, unique smooth-round pods, this may be the okra variety that my grandfather grew years ago in his Southern Maryland garden.

Preparing and Cooking Home Grown Okra

Okra is shunned by some because of the slimy nature of the cut pods after they are cooked. While this mucilaginous character has been linked to some of the health promoting properties of this nutritious vegetable, if that’s prevented you from enjoying okra you’ll be happy to discover that there are ways to prepare it that reduce or eliminate that slimy consistency.

Cooking the smaller pods whole, eliminates the need for any cutting and will automatically reduce the gelatinous effect in any recipe. Adding small quantities of cut okra pods to soups or stews containing other vegetables and liquids will also reduce the unpleasant stickiness, as will the acid from vinegar that is added to a dish during preparation.

For the youngest and smallest tender pods you can skip the cooking altogether. The raw pods can be enjoyed as finger food, or can be cut into pieces and tossed into a fresh vegetable salad.

Gumbo, a Classic Recipe Featuring Okra

Okra is one of the essential ingredients that set gumbo apart from an ordinary pot of soup and is a must have for cooking any authentic gumbo recipe. Another favorite southern okra recipe is to slice the pods crosswise into sections which are then breaded and deep fried.

For a much healthier alternative steam or boil the pods, or prepare stews, soups, and casseroles including okra with a variety of other fresh vegetables. Okra is especially good when cooked along with tomatoes or tomato sauces, which will also serve to eliminate any slimy aftereffects.

If you had given up on okra maybe it’s time to give it another try. Regardless of how you choose to prepare them, growing a selection of okra varieties in the home garden will supply you with plenty of fresh pods throughout the gardening season to include in some of your favorite recipes.



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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 17th, 2006 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Heirloom Plant Treasures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “Okra Varieties and Uses”

  1. Bill Bridges Says:

    Hi, Kenny, just wanted to let you know I have been visiting the site. Obviously too late for me to do anything this year, but I am gearing up for next year.

  2. Gary S. Brackett, Jr. Says:

    Hey!!! Just found your website after doing some gardening and seed research for the upcoming 2007 Summer growing season. I am seriously fascinated by the idea of growing red okra (red burgundy) as well as giant yet tender okray pods (cowhorn). CANT WAIT!!! Okra definitely a favorite vegetable, and Gumbo freezes exceptionally well (just had some on this chilly january night—tastes garden fresh!!!). Happy Gardening to you and yours!!!

    Gary
    January 8, 2007

  3. Jesse Molina Says:

    Where can I buy, borrow or steal seeds of the Star of David giant okra? I live on the northeast side of San Antoni, TX. Failin that , where can I get any giant okra seeds ….Please Help…..Jesse Molina, SA, TX

  4. Kenny Point Says:

    Hi Jesse, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds carries Star of David and a large variety of other unusual and hard to find varieties of okra seeds.

  5. Snappybob Says:

    If I grow heirloom okra can I just let some of the pods dry out and then collect the seed or is there a special proceedure for saving okra seed?

  6. Kenny Point Says:

    Sure you can save the seeds of your okra plants by letting the pods mature and dry out. Different varieties of okra can cross pollinate though, so if you grow more than one kind of heirloom okra you’ll need to figure out a method to isolate the blossoms if you want to keep the seed true to type.

  7. Kevin Says:

    We’ve had great luck with Alabama Red Okra in our garden in Tennessee. It is beautiful and grows well in poor soil conditions.

    Here is our crop: Alabama Red Okra

  8. Laura Says:

    Wondering if there is a variety that grows on vines - my Mom got some from Tennesee with 10 ribs - 8-10 inch long but still tender - the giver said grown on vines not stalks. Any info is appreciated.

  9. Kenny Point Says:

    Laura, I’ve heard of okra varieties that yield long pods on seven or eight foot tall plants, but I have never heard of an okra variety that produces vines rather than stalks.

  10. Mike Wilson Says:

    Hi Jessie Molina, Reimer Seeds (P.O. Box 236; Mount Holly, N.C. 28120-0236) carries Star of David okra seeds and many other okra varieties. I just bought 2 pkgs. of Star of David okra on 2/13/2008. [$2.50 per package plus shipping ($5.75)]

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