Okra, also known as gumbo or ladies’ fingers, is a warm-season vegetable. It contains a sticky juice that people use to thicken sauces. The pods are pale lime to lime green color, their exterior has furrowed lengthwise grooves. The skin can often be fuzzy to prickly and the flesh bears a tender spongy membrane with many small white seeds. Okra is known less for its lean flavor and more for its sticky sap that creates the flesh's gelatinous texture.

Health Benefits

It is a good source of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber.  The mucilage of okra may help remove toxins from the body and the nutrients in it may make it useful for preventing several health problems.  Their pods are a good source of dietary fiber and a mucilage substance that is said to help in easing digestion.

Usage

Okra is historically not eaten alone, rather paired in a multitude of recipes alongside ingredients with bold, complex flavors and varying textures. Okra is most often used as a soup or stew ingredient, though its textures and flavors are truly enhanced when fried and grilled. Okra pairs well with basil, bacon, beet greens, butter, cream, garlic, ham, lemon, kale, onions, parsley, olive oil, pickled vegetables, chile peppers and peppercorns, paprika, tomatoes and turnips.

Storage

Place fresh okra in a paper bag, or wrap it in a paper towel and place the paper towel in a perforated plastic bag.  Store okra in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.  For longer storage, okra may be frozen.