If you look closely, summer in the South is one long produce festival. For example, the last weekend of August in Burkville, Lowndes County, you will find the Okra Festival. And there, you will find that among all the varieties, the favorite will be Alabama red okra. The Okra Festival started as a small community event celebrating the only crop that survived an unusually hot summer in 2000. Twenty-five years later, it is one of the highlights of the summer season, featuring local food, music and cultural arts.
Alabama red okra is an heirloom variety that is a descendant of ancient okra native to West Africa. Enslaved Africans would braid seeds like okra into their hair before being forced onto slave ships. Because of their prior knowledge of how to cultivate and cook with okra, it became an African American staple food in the south. If you are never fortunate enough to find red okra, all okra works in recipes. Of course, most raw okra is green, but there are also burgundy and purple varieties. However, it all turns green when cooked!
Peak Time: June to early October
Average Price: $2.49 per pound
Tips for Selection and Storage: For all okra, choose small pods that are not more than 4 inches long. The tender pods should have a flexible tip. Pods should be firm, with a bright green color as well as red, burgundy and purple in those varieties. Avoid overgrown dry pods or those that have browning at the edge or tip. Okra may be stored in baggies in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.
Tips for Preparation: Okra pods can bruise easily, so store them carefully. Fresh okra is best stored in the vegetable drawer of the fridge, either wrapped in a paper towel or in a loose paper bag. Wait to wash it until you’re ready to cook it. Wash and dry pods. Use whole or cut according to the recipe used. Besides use in gumbo, soups and stews, okra may be baked, fried, roasted or used in many vegetable combinations like tomatoes, eggplant, onions and garlic. It can be used fresh in salads and salsas.
Nutritional Highlights: Okra is an excellent source of vitamins C, K, folic acid, and has a fair amount of vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, manganese, calcium and protein. Okra is an excellent source of polyphenol phytonutrients that help reduce blood pressure and inflammation associated with heart disease. Okra is high in dietary fiber and especially pectin, a prebiotic that feeds good gut bacteria.
