Talk:Okra

Excision decision

I'd work on this more except it's time to go out and have a few. In the meanwhile I thought I'd leave a note of what I excised:

"People who have tried okra tend to either like it or hate it. The haters usually cite the "slimy" mouthfeel. Those of us who like okra savor the texture, the delightful taste, comparable to - but not at all the same as - green pepper."

Sentence one: Yes, in my experience that's true.

sentence three: comparable to green peppers? In what way? I must have had more vegetables in my time than you; okra is in no way similar to green peppers aside from being green and turning a bit soft and slimy if you cook it for far too long (which, IMHO is also the problem with how squash, spinach, and collards are often cooked). Koyaanis Qatsi

I think you're right, KF. I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have when modifying the article. -- Zoe

Did you mod that part? I never would have guessed; your other writing is clear and easy to understand. Anyway, I'm not sure what the original author intended, and I don't trust myself to keep editing it tonight. I'll look at it in the morning. Best, Koyaanis Qatsi

Actually, I took out the most egregious of the personal data listed here, but just sort of glossed over that other stuff. -- Zoe

Gumbo

Who calls Okra "Gumbo"? Sure, it's a featured ingredient in gumbo, but I have never heard such. (I live in the south and grew up on both.) Streyeder

I've removed this term. I've never heard it used that way either, and the first 20 pages of Google image search didn't have any pictures of okra when I searched for 'gumbo'. In addition, if it is added back, it shouldn't be in bold unless there is a disambig at gumbo. -SCEhardT 13:50, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Poisonous

I couldn't find any reference to Okra being poisonous. Perhaps the person who wrote that was confusing it with another plant?

historical uses of this plant

Are the pods of the okra the only parts of the plant that are put to commercial use? What kind of root or tuber does it produce?

The local grocery story offers packages of frozen okra pods that have been cut into segments, but it looks like it is impossible to buy the complete pods, or the stems or the leaves, for that matter.

How many parts of the okra are edible?

Is it poisonous to eat the leaves, or the roots?

Does it produce a tap root like the carrot does? Or is it more like a horse radish root?