Okra--Outcast Of The Veggie World

Say the word "okra" in any group setting and chances are, the majority of the people will either turn up their noses while uttering a yukky sound or outright comment that the vegetable in question isn't worth consideration. Unless those people are from the South. They've eaten it all their lives and they like it. Most of us can't figure out why.

As for me, I've never been able to get past the slime. I've tried okra on occasion, but the feel of that gelatinous liquid going down my throat always made me want to gag. So when my friend Ann asked me if I'd like some jars of her pickled okra, I politely thanked her and said no. She wouldn't let it go at that. "Why don't you like okra?" she asked. So I had to tell her. After all, she was a near and dear pal of mine. She had a huge garden and grew all her own vegetables. She had so much okra she'd taken to putting it up in jars.

"Okra pickles aren't slimy," she informed me. I think you'd like them. She sent me off with three jars and dared me to give them a try. I was lucky to get any of those incredibly crunchy pickles because once the rest of the family discovered them, they disappeared nearly overnight. All three jars.

And guess what? Not one bit of slime anywhere. In fact, the pickles were so addicting, I contacted her for the recipe so I could pass it onto you. If you have never liked this outcast vegetable, these pickles will change your mind, just as it did mine. If you are an okra lover, you'll enjoy this simple vegetable as the delicious commodity it can be.

What my friend knew and I didn't is that it is the cutting that releases the slime. Fried whole, roasted whole, or pickled whole and there is no yukkiness involved. If you're one of those okra haters, as I was, give this easy recipe a try. My guess is you'll come to love okra as much as I do--especially pickled.

What you will need:

2 pint-size canning jars that have been sterilized in boiling water and are still hot to the touch.
1 pound of fresh, firm okra with pods no longer than 3 inches
Dill seed
Apple cider vinegar
Water
Salt, either pickling or non-iodized

(If you choose to use larger jars, remember to increase the pickling liquid accordingly.)

Wash the okra and cut the small stems off the top. Do not cut into the okra or you'll release the slime factor.

Place the pods in the jars, crowding them a bit. This is easier if some of the pods go in upside down.

Sprinkle 1 tsp. dill seed into each jar
Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. mustard seed into jar (optional)

In a saucepan, bring to a hard boil:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. salt without iodine

Pour the boiling liquid over the okra, covering the pods but leaving 1/4" headroom in the jar itself.

With a clean, damp towel, wipe the rim of each jar, making sure it is clean and dry. Place the lids on the jars and seal tightly with the rings.

Allow the jars to sit out overnight to completely cool. Test the lid to make sure the jar has sealed. Push in the center of the lid, if there is no give, the lid has sealed and you can move the pickles into a cupboard.

Canning jars, lids, and rings must be sterile. If you aren't sure how to sterilize them, see the instructions on my previous blog, You Can Can Summer's Bounty.

My friend Ann told me she made only a few jars at a time, as the okra ripened in her garden. If you want to make a larger batch, double or triple the recipe.

Optional Add-ins:

celery seed, garlic cloves, small dried red chiles, whole pepper corns.

Personally, I thought the pickles were fantastic as they were. But don't be afraid to experiment if you'd like them spicier.

You Can Can Summer's Bounty

This photo reminds me of
the shelves in our basement,
except that we had more
shelves and they were
stacked high with jar after
jar of colorful foods.

My mom wasn't a history buff. In fact I doubt she even knew it was Napoleon Bonaparte in the late 18th century who offered a cash prize to anyone who could figure out a way to preserve food so the Emperor could keep his armies fed.

Money talks. Anyway, this guy named Nicholas Appert started experimenting and finally figured it out. Thus began the history of canning foods at their peak of freshness. The bummer is that my great grandma taught my grandma and she taught my mom and my mom taught me and I taught my kids and...well, you know how it goes. Knowledge just keeps getting passed down, whether you wish it or not.

Mom started with the apples. We made apple jelly, applesauce and pickled crab apples--which I liked a lot. Then came the tomatoes. We canned tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, and piccalilli--made with green tomatoes but hey, winter was coming and she had to do something with the fruit that wasn't ripe yet.

When I was growing
up, everyone had a 
Victory Garden and
canned their excess
toward winter.

After that came the green beans, the corn, the watermelon pickles, the dill pickles, the sweet relish and the carrots. If there was a way to stick something in a glass jar, my mom knew how to do it. Trouble was, it was such a big job that my middle sister and I were drafted into helping. It wasn't a job we enjoyed.

Ah, but come winter mom would send one of us into the cellar's deep, dark reaches where shelf after shelf was lined with jars that gleamed confetti colors of red, orange, pink, yellow, green, and cream.

The snow outside might be 5 feet deep and the temperature may be well below zero, but meal after meal, we savored the Midwest's summer bounty. Although putting up the jars hadn't been much fun, eating the results was definitely worthwhile. So I passed on what I knew. My kids and I made apple jelly, plum jam, dill pickles, piccalilli, and stewed tomatoes.

"Good, huh?" I asked. "Real good," said my son--who liked to cook anyway. "Too much work," said my daughter--who hated the whole culinary scene. Today, one child puts up garlic dill pickles that are the best I've ever eaten. The other goes to the grocery store.

Hey, one out of two ain't  bad.

GARLIC DILL PICKLES

This recipe is so simple, you may be tempted to think the pickles will be soft, mushy, and tasteless. Wrong. While it took mom days and days to make her dill pickles--what with all the brining in the stone crock, etc, these are jarred and ready for winter feasting in but a few hours. Over time, my son has made a few changes as to what goes in the jar along with the cucumbers, but what I give you here is the original recipe. 

You can can summer's bounty. Begin with making these dill pickles. Your success with them will prod you on to putting up more and more of the fruit and vegetables from your garden or the local farmer's market. The plus side is everything that goes inside the jar is healthy, vegan, and pronounceable. Let me know how you fare.

What you will need:
About 7 pounds of pickling cucumbers, firm to the touch
7-8 wide mouth quart jars with lids and rings
A large bunch of dill weed or a jar of dill seed

Upon bringing the cucumbers home, give each a wash and then allow them to sit in an ice-water bath overnight. You can make the pickles the very next day. My son uses a cooler to ice his cucumbers down.

Wash the canning jars, either by hand or dishwasher. Jars must be sterilized and warm to the touch when the cucumbers are inserted. Sterilize in the dishwasher or in a large pan with 3-4 inches of water in it. Set the jars upside down in the pan. Leave the heat on medium. When the water has gone up into the jars, turn off the heat. The jars are now sterile. Leave in the pan until use.

Into each jar put:

1 smashed clove of garlic, or more if you like real garlicky pickles
1 sprig of fresh dill, stems and all or 1/2 tsp. dill seed from a jar
1 dried red pepper, broken in half (only if you are a diehard spice fan)
Pickling cukes, whole, spears, or sliced. Stuff the jars with as many cucumbers as possible.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep pan bring to a hard boil:

3 quarts water
1 quart distilled white vinegar
1 cup plain salt (NOT iodized)
1/2 tsp. alum

Pour the brine over the jarred cucumbers, making sure to cover the cukes by at least 1/4"-1/2".

Wipe the jar rims till they are completely dry. Place the lid on the jar and screw on the ring so it is just tight but  not super tight. Leave the jars sitting out overnight. Lids will seal as jars cool. Listen for the pop. Test each jar by pressing on the center of the lid. If the jar has sealed, it will not give; if unsealed, there will be give in the lid. Any jars that have not sealed should be placed in the refrigerator and used first.

Tighten the rings on each jar so you know it is air tight. Allow the pickles to set at least 3 weeks.