You didn't pick it too soon. Okra that goes too long gets kind of woody and hard to eat - it's better to pick sooner than later.

Fried okra is one of my favorite foods and it works well in the air fryer also. Tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper then roasted is also good.

Four inches long is long enough to be picked, and eight inches is pushing the upper limit. It is like zucchini in that it is more tender when young. Do not let it get too large. I think that 5-6" is optimal. Freeze the excess for later, if you will not be using it right away.

I made several okra dishes that I love, including one from Marcus Samuelsson's African cookbook, which is a stew that includes okra, onions, tomatoes, and not much else. I also make Okra Parmigiana, which is like the eggplant version, but with okra instead of eggplant.

My favorite is seafood gumbo, and I always make extra so that I can freeze it in individual portions, and it cannot be refrozen.

When to pick okra? Difficult to tell unless you know the variety. Some (LOUISIANA 16 inch long) can grow to close to 16 inch long and still be tender.

Yours kind of look like Bowling Red, which can grow to 7 inches and still good.

I am growing 5 varieties this year.

dcarch

I love okra. I agree that four inches or less is the optimum size. But dcarch brings up a good point in that different varieties might be tender even if longer. Okra stewed with tomatoes, onions, & garlic is a traditional Greek dish my mother often made, usually braising the okra with chicken. I like it stewed with the addition of bacon and some creole/cajun style seasonings too. It's great in gumbo, and I like it fried and roasted. It has such a delicious peppery taste that I find so enjoyable.

I think this Okra's 8" was too long; while not woody it was past it's prime. I found a second one only 4" long that I will do something with tomorrow. I know there are two different kinds; but the only tag I could find was for two plants called "Lousianna Green". I'll keep looking for the other name. I keep thinking it was something Armenian. I hate not knowing.

Lars, I think I made something close to African dish you described. I cut up the okra, Ping Tang eggplant, green onions, a garlic clove and a half tomato and made a sort of stirfry to serve with my porkchop.

For freezing: do I just toss them in the freezer whole or cut them up and shrinkwrap?

I freeze okra whole, but I do shrink wrap it first. You are less likely to get freezer burn if you freeze them whole instead of in pieces.

Okra that gets woody will not cook to a point where it is tender. So, you need to pick the pods before they get that way. Woody okra is not good. You really cant/dont want to eat it like that.

Some varieties can grow long without getting woody.

Okra is not usually considered somethin that you cook just one pod of. I guess if you want to do there is no reason not to.

I cut them up, break an egg and maybe a bit of buttermilk over them, coat them in corn meal and pan fry them.

Or, make an okra stew much as Lars does.

And don't forget, okra leaves and blossoms are edible.

For those who have not grown okra before, okra plants are beautiful.

dcarch

dcarch, my plants are still small, but they certainly are a pretty plant. Didn't know that the whole plant is edible.

Wednesday, I used one okra because that's all I had, plus I'm cooking for one and only make a small amount of anything, so that worked out OK. And, your directions for pan frying sounds good and I will try that when I have more than one.

Lars, thanks for the freezing idea. I can do that.

Okra for pickling should be less than 3" to fit in a pint jar and must be picked every day or they get to long and woody. Last year I canned 50 pints. Not fond of them raw or cooked, not even breaded and fried, not even in gumbo. The flowers are beautiful so I grow them in the back of my flower garden as the plants get quite tall. Some people are somewhat allergic to the sticky prickly stems and leaves but they don't bother me. I didn't know that they flowers and leaves are edible, have to try them. At the end of the season let some get really big and dry. Use the seeds for next year's crop for free.

I think that I read that okra is in the same family as the hibiscus. It does have a pretty blossom but it can have quite prickly stalks . My mom always wore gloves while picking her okra.

Ok, Kate, I get it that you are cooking for one, but you are the only person I have ever known to cook one pod of okra. Okra is like beans in that regard. You usually gather enough to cook as a bunch. But, there is no reason that you cant cook just one pod.

Cooking for one must be quite different from cooking for self and others.

enjoy your okra!

My mom always dried up a pod or two and planted the next season with it.

Speaking of okra leaves and flowers are edible and speaking of hibiscus, all parts of Hibiscus sabdariffa are edible: calyxes, leaves, and flowers.

So many good stuffs to enjoy for free.

I believe that thru millions of evolution, our biology requires varieties in our food intake to be healthy.

I have no allergies. :-)

dcarch

Late to this - I love okra! I have seeds I'm waiting to plant here. I never have enough. I like it sliced and sauteed, or in stews/soups - and I add it to rice dishes too, like a gumbo. I like the velvety texture it adds

I don't actually fry it, but dredge in cornmeal & S&P and saute in olive oil.

The young pods are so good raw, I often munch on them in the garden.

I think it is smart actually, when trying a new crop, especially different varieties, to harvest and cook/test to find the best flavor. At the best size for that particular variety. Add one or two to what is planned for dinner. This isn't about cooking for one person necessarily.

I'm always trying new varieties especially the tiny Frech fillet beans. (one i loved is no longer available). Harvest is slow trickling in this time of year in my climate.

I've been picking cherry tomatoes for a month now. Started a few dozen compact varieties in Febuary. A few dozen peas, beans, and cuke varieties. Mostly garden snacks when i just get a few.

This season i went overboard in the summer and winter squash varieties. And the radish, beets.

Started seeds indoors and direct seeded as well. I can cull if too thick. And prune.

I can take the first mini harvest and combine for a mixed sauté. The NorthEast and the EasternShore area is called a succotash. Summer and winter versions that use all the available freah harvest.

I was surprised to see ”Kota me Bamies” (chicken with okra) show up as a “classic Greek dish“ in my inbox the other day. No idea where okra came from originally but I wouldn’t have associated it with Greek cuisine offhand.

Isn't okra African in origin? That's not so far from Greece, and trade around the Mediterranean goes back thousands of years...

FOAS, for better or worse, my mom made kota me bamies regularly. My dad loved the stuff, and whenever my Uncle visited, that’s what my mom would make especially for him. It’s a pretty tasty dish.

Carol, per wiki the origins are somewhat disputed, but for me and my admitedly limited knowledge of Greek food it was unexpected. However Shambo’s story of the dish has me convinced.

FWIW, my uncle was a wealthy man with a chain of hamburger stands in the Los Angeles area. He frequented many Greek restaurants. So, he was never without access to decent spanakopita, moussaka, pastitio, etc. -- the fancier, showcase Greek dishes. However, what he craved and couldn't get anywhere else was simple, home style dishes like chicken with okra. So, when he'd visit, my mom always made the kind of braises they'd both grown up eating.

We’ve got a winner!

https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/roasted-okra-with-chicken-kota-me-bamies/

Today i have 6! I might trying frying them tomorrow.