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. -SCEhard T 13:50, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Poisonous

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

As Paracelsus said, all things are poisonous, only the dossage makes the difference. Okra, I've heard from several sources (I'll see if I can make it official), is the most toxic plant regularly consumed by humans. That doesn't make it specifically poisonous, you're not going to die eating an Okra or anything, but it is an interesting fact and a useful antidote to the claims that "all natural" foods are somehow tested by centuries of experience. They really aren't, and there's no telling what surprises are going to show up when our food plants are actually tested. --Suttkus 12:25, 28 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.177.27.21 (talk • contribs) .

Whole pods are often available in grocery stores in Houston, TX - I assume the Portland area would be the same but you might need to wait for warmer weather. You could buy seeds and grow some yourself come spring :-) -SCEhard T 13:50, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okra does not do well in cooler climates. It is one of the last crops planted in early summer in the deep south. Ground temperature must be over 75 or the seeds will rot. I have my doubts about cascade okra without greenhouse or hotbox supplementation. It is best boiled, batter fried, or in gumbo dishes. I am unaware of any attepmts to eat parts other than the pods and seeds. Whole pods are available in most areas where okra can be grown. I have never heard of any part of the okra being poisionous but in light of the fact that rhododendron, hemlock, oak nuts, and potatoes contain poisons, it is best to air on the side of caution. Okra is not a root drop and has no exceptional root or tuber system. ( are you confusing it with kudzu, which has legumous sacs?) It may be possible to make some cooking enhancements to the vegetable, but it is nutritious to all and tasty to most who eat it in the aforementioned forms. The original African okra strains produce very large pods before becoming woody and are more slimy than the popular hybrids, like clemson spineless okra. The original varities take more time to come to production, making them a near impossibility in short-season scenarios. Georgia Bob rdr4@alltel.net

Is Okra usually available in salted dishes? If the seeds in the pods are allowed to ripen, can they be popped like popcorn, or roasted like sesame? I've seen candied confections with ground sesame seeds, so I'd think that something similar should be possible with okra. As for the growing season in the foothills to the Cascade mountains in Oregon, it's so short it significantly limits the production of tomatoes. Last frost at the 1100 feet above sea level is somewhere around May 15, and first frost is somewhere around mid-to-early October. So that probably rules out raising okra in this part of the world, unless the okra can be hybridized with some other cold-loving species of the mallow family to produce something frost resistant.

Kidney Stones

I've heard that okra can be used to painlessly flush out certain types of kidney stones. Three fingers cut into strips and left in 2 quarts of water for several hours. Then squeeze the juice into the 2 quarts of water. Drink it and it will turn some types of kidney stones to sludge, apparently! Isn't it also know as a kidney vetch? I might be totally wrong about this but that's what I've heard. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.255.36.5 (talk • contribs) .

Callaloo

Callaloo is an important staple in the Caribbean, and according to Wikipedia's current entry on its preparation, Callaloo is almost always made with okra. Okra is also used in another Caribbean staple Coo Coo. Due to the importance of these dishes in Caribbean cuisine, they should not be omitted from the article on Okra.