In a Pickle

"So few people eat okra (more radishes are grown in this country) that it never even makes it onto the lists of Top 10 hated foods." - Mississippi native and author Julia Reed

Now, that's an unpopular vegetable. Okra really needs a good public relations firm to give it an image makeover. Most people cook it until it has the texture of mucus. This is the wrong way to cook it. My father has always grown okra in his vegetable garden and it tends to be very prolific. So, we have eaten it all sorts of ways. It's really quite delicious when very small pods are lightly steamed, just until they are tender. You can add some hollandaise sauce if you want to be fancy, but just a little butter is good, too. And, fried okra is food fit for the gods.

But, even most okra-haters like pickled okra. It stays crisp and green and has a little bite from hot peppers. My mother made jars of okra pickles every year and my father has suggested that I try to make some with his current crop. I've always resisted before, but I decided that this was the Year of Pickled Okra.

I bought the jars and other pickling supplies and wished I had paid attention when my mother was making her okra pickles. I went on a hunt for dill seed - found at Richard's Foodporium - and a hunt for recipes and method. The methods varied widely from no processing after adding the vinegar to boiling in a water bath for two hours. I decided to go with five minutes. My husband grew the little peppers.

(Please forgive the photography; I took this in my kitchen where the lighting wasn't very good.)

Making pickles makes for a messy kitchen, by the way.

But, after much boiling of things, I ended up with this:

They are really quite beautiful. The red peppers contrast nicely with the green okra pods.

Best of all, the little circle in the middle of the lids popped down with a very satisfying "ping." That means that the jar sealed. I am so proud of my domesticity.

I have to wait about two weeks for the vinegar and various seasonings to do their thing and then we will have an okra pickle tasting. I'll keep you posted...