okra is cool. it's flowers are very beautiful when in full bloom. probably my favorite of all flowers. pictures don't do it justice, the abrupt gradient shift from a light, pale yellow to a deep, dark imperial purple. not something frequently seen in nature.
as a food, i think they're awesome. i love them in stews and of course gumbo, the great collision of many folk stews. i love them fried, of course. pickled okra is a bit too intense for me, but mostly due to the pickling. i won't turn pickled okra down, but i won't go out and buy them either.
i even like them straight up raw off the plant. when i used to work as a seasonal picker and be hungover at like 6am, a couple small and tender pods would settle the stomach with its mucilaginous texture and dial back that cottonmouth feeling of dehydration.
a friend of mine hates okra. he says they're "slimy", as though everything chewed up isn't slimy in the mouth. he's like 47, but i think saying okra is too slimy is childish.
Also used to sneak okra right off the plant at work, yummy shit!
Okra is a member of the hibiscus family that's why the flowers look so dang cool
Its a different kind of slimy. This might just be my autism but I've never had a problem with chewing up food but the okra sliminess is a sensory barrier I can't get past. Theres a bunch of other foods with this quality that I can't eat either.
If it's prepared in a way that removes the sliminess I enjoy okra.
Okra is awesome! It's great fresh as long as it doesn't get too big and fibrous. It's really easy to saute. I like to add some tomato and garlic for a simple veggie side dish. Lightly grilled with a bit of lemon juice and pepper on top is also really yummy. The velvety skin, the little sweet seeds and the glorious slime makes it a tour de force of textures and sensations in your mouth.
i love okra!
one of the coolest things exported from africa as a gift to the world!
