Pickled okra with mustard seeds and garlic

Okra belongs to the mallow family, alongside hibiscus. It has yellow flowers with dark centres, and its fruits, commonly called pods, are botanically capsules. Choose young, tender ones for cooking. The University of Maryland guide notes that older fruits quickly become tough and woody.

• Kew Science · Abelmoschus esculentus
• University of Maryland Extension · Growing Okra in a Home Garden

In the southern United States, okra connects African and African American food traditions. Smithsonian includes it in the history of these communities’ gardens and cooking, and gumbo is one of its best-known uses. Pickling young pods gives a tangy alternative to cooking them in a pot. This modern version with mustard seeds and garlic adapts a recipe by Nichole Dandrea-Russert, published by Food Revolution Network in 2022.

• Smithsonian · African American Foodways and Horticulture Practices
• Nichole Dandrea-Russert · Pickled Okra (2022)

Okra contains mucilage, a mixture rich in polysaccharides that gives it its characteristic slippery texture. Cutting the pods releases more of it. Here the young pods are kept whole, rather than chopped as they might be for a thickened soup.

• University of Illinois Extension · Growing and Harvesting Okra
• University of Florida IFAS · Okra mucilage