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  • From: Willie McKemie <mckemie AT austinfarm.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Okra
  • Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 12:09:01 -0600

> the other thing, harvest the pods when they're small. If they get too
> big, let them dry for flower arrangements because they won't be fit to
> eat. (The tip about drying okra pods is from Linda Chapman-Dale, a

SO! This is where my customers are getting their erroneous
information! I sell pods (of Emerald Velvet) that are at least 3" and
maybe as long as 6". I am almost overwhelmed with resistance to the
size. It is a continual battle to get first sales; repeat business
comes easily. I agree that tough fibrous pods should not be sold and
we do not. But, I can not afford to pick 1/2"-2" pods and sell them for
a price that people will pay. Please stop spreading the myth that big
okra is tough okra and only small pods are fit to eat! Perhaps yankee
okra is slower growing and gets tough at smaller sizes?

Okra pods should be picked within about a day of the time when the
bloom wilts. I like to snap off pods rather than cut because an easily
snapped stem is good proof of tenderness. As a quality control
measure, I occasionally pull a few of the biggest pods out of the
picking baskets and test them by biting off the stem end. I never find
a tough one. I occasionally perform a similar test for customers at
farmers markets, but that is a hard way to make a sale.

We pick several bushels of okra each and every day from about June
through about October.

--
Willie ONWARD! Through the fog!
Are YOU an html abuser? http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
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>From awiediger AT HART.k12.ky.us Tue Feb 18 13:33:59 2003
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From: "Wiediger, Alison" <awiediger AT HART.k12.ky.us>
To: 'Market Farming' <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Okra
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 12:31:41 -0600
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We have the problem at our Farmers' Market. Though newer varieties stay
tender longer, even the venerable Clemson Spineless is good to about 4.5 or
5 inches. I like to grow okra, and Paul hates it for the very reason you
state: customers resist buying it over about 2" and we can't make any money
cutting it that small. And that's in Kentucky, which IS NOT the north
<grin>! Maybe when they are buying okra in the grocery store, the smaller
pods stay tender even though they aren't fresh, so they expect all okra to
be that way.

Here's how I cook it. Cut into bite size pieces. 'Course, it oozes. Put
into a paper bag with cornmeal in it and shake. the cornmeal sticks to it.
Fry in a cast-iron skillet with olive oil until golden, turn over with a
spatula and fry 'til golden on that side. Better than deep-fried and better
for you!

Alison
> ----------
> From: Willie McKemie[SMTP:mckemie AT austinfarm.org]
>
> SO! This is where my customers are getting their erroneous
> information! I sell pods (of Emerald Velvet) that are at least 3" and
> maybe as long as 6". I am almost overwhelmed with resistance to the
> size. It is a continual battle to get first sales; repeat business
> comes easily. I agree that tough fibrous pods should not be sold and
> we do not. But, I can not afford to pick 1/2"-2" pods and sell them for
> a price that people will pay.
>From root AT access4less.net Tue Feb 18 13:47:37 2003
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Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 12:38:08 -0600
From: Willie McKemie <mckemie AT austinfarm.org>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Okra
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from awiediger AT HART.k12.ky.us on Tue, Feb 18, 2003 at 12:31:41PM -0600
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> <grin>! Maybe when they are buying okra in the grocery store, the smaller
> pods stay tender even though they aren't fresh, so they expect all okra to
> be that way.
>
I've heard people express the view that okra toughens as it ages after
picking, but I have personally seen no evidence of it. Most of the okra
that we eat is our own that has aged enough that it is not salable.
Spotty. We never find tough ones.

Thanks for joining the "big okra is good okra" campaign!

--
Willie ONWARD! Through the fog!
Are YOU an html abuser? http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
Linux system uptime 87 days 19 hours 44 minutes
>From kampy AT grm.net Tue Feb 18 14:17:49 2003
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From: "Marie Kamphefner" <kampy AT grm.net>
To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Okra
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 13:18:40 -0600
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Regards to the list:

Thank you for the information about cooking okra seeds. I will try
that.

Three to five inch pods I would consider small. :-) I don't think I
could bite a raw okra pod - they have little hairy things that really
irritate my skin. I have to wear gloves and long sleeves to harvest
okra. Those little tiny pods, I would cook whole. Do you have a file
gumbo recipe for us yankees?

Marie in Missouri (A yankee hillbilly?)







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