Okra

[perrylep]

My old timer gardening buddy says when one cuts the okra from the plant to also cut the accompanying leaf...He had no clear reason, but said "that's what you do"... Any merit to that practice? Thanks. Perry

[raeannsimpson]

I don't know about that, but around here, we just cut the okra itself. Maybe I can learn something new here too..........

[Sheldon]

I've been growing okra for many years, never heard of that practice. I cut just the pods with a small amount of stem when they're fairly small, about 3-4 inches... I don't really see how you can include a leaf without also cutting into the main trunk and damaging the plant.

I freeze them in zip-locs and save them for the winter months for soups and stews. Okra is kinda ok breaded and fried but then I don't consider it so much a vegetable as fat laden breading so it's rare I fry them. Those I don't freeze get cut into salads and I pickle some. I began growing okra from when I visited Belize many years ago and saw them growing everywhere; large handsome plants with gorgeous blossoms. Okra does best in warmer climes but they grow here in NY too.

[raeannsimpson]

that's what i was thinking.............

i freeze mine also. never heard or seen anyone put them in salads. i have to pick all the seeds out before i can eat them cause of health reasons, so i don't eat that often myself.

Rae

[Sheldon]

That would be tedious and not much okra would be left after seeding. When harvested young the seeds are not very seedy (nor the pods very slimey), they're more a gelatinous mass like very yound cucumber seeds... and when cooked in soups and stews the seeds kind of disintegrate. I suppose you can push raw okra through a Foley food mill to remove the seeds, but then what would be the point, all you'd have is green goo... kind of like shaving gel... how about an okra facial:

[Rachael Simpson]

i mainly use them in soups, so i don't have to deal with the seeds much. i pick my okra kinda young too, as you mentioned, for that reason also. I leave a few to mature more, and fry those on occasion for my hubby and son. When "de-seeding" last year, i got smarter than the year b4 and took a knife with a small thin blade, cut the top off, and just used the knife to kinda core the okra out. left more okra and less mess too.

[Sheldon]

I can't imagine coring okra pods from one end, perhaps just a few but not a potful. You could try slicing the pods lengthwise into halves, then scrape the seeds out like deseeding a cucumber.

[Kay Lancaster]

Only if you're trying to slow down continued production by removing photosynthetic area from the plant.

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