Last year, I grew Clemson Spineless, which is apparently the "standard" okra. However, you have to cut it early before the pods get too long and that seemed to be a problem for me. LOL What okra varieties have you tried and had success with?
Let's Talk Okra
The best that I have tried is Emerald, worst Clemson Spineless
I'm really leaning towards the Emerald. There's also some new variety that produces short pods, green bodies with red tips, not very productive, yet tasty and hales from deep south Texas. I saw it in the Baker catalog, and think it's called "El Paso" or something like that. Was also considering that variety as well, just for fun.
Hill Country Red gets good reviews, but I have not grown. Burgundy is Ok but not a great producer for me. Note that there are two cultivars of okra sold as Emerald. The good one is a derivative of the Louisiana Green Velvet developed by Campbell Soup. The other is a ridged okra similar to Clemson Spineless. I am one of those who like velvet okra's better than the ridged varieties. Have grown both Green Velvet and White Velvet. There is a Red Velvet, but I have not gotten around to that one. Best ridged okra to date, Cowhorn, Perkins Long Pod. Cajun Delight is ok, but I observed no advantages over the open pollinated cultivars. Beck's Big Buckhorn is surprisingly productive and quite edible, but like its look alike Okrazilla is more for the novelty.
Quite a few years ago I grew a variety called "Artist". The entire plant was red - stalks, stems, leaves and pods. (Cooked green of course) It was spetacular as well as delicious ( and not "gummy"). Sadly, I lost my seed stash and can't remember the source from which I obtained it.
Artist was a hybrid that made most of the popular seed catalogs for a few years, then completely dissappeared.
I grew miniature red okra "Little Lucy" more for looks than food I admit but I was pleased with the red okra it produced on a very short bushy plant that never got more three feet tall if even that. It did not produce nearly the ammount of okra the traditional farm varieties produce but it was fine with me because it was just enough for us to enjoy some okra and tomatoes without having tons of it to deal with. The okra was red but tasted the same as green okra to me but I`m not really a okra tasting expert. I liked it just fine when picked young just like the other kinds. Karen
Last year I grew okra, Beck's Gardenville, from seeds - Native Seed Search.
My hubby grew up eating okra so he is the expert here and he loved the flavor and texture. He commented on how creamy the texture was...only problem is it didn't produce enough. They are fat and shorter than your average okra but even when left on the plant for weeks, they didn't seem to get real stringy or tough.
Apparently I should have cut the plants' tops because they grew to around 8 or 9 feet tall. It seems like my dh told me to at some point but I didn't...I think it would have produced more if I had; and when October rolled around, they were really starting to produce many at a time but it got too cold !
Thanks everyone for your input! Who knew there were so many different varieties of okra!
Something like 85 named cultivars at last count.
This pod likes Lee okra pods. http://www.willhiteseed.com/products.php?cat=49 They are short plants so easy to harvest from. They may not produce as much volume because they don't branch out. I did notice them getting tougher if left on the plant too long though. Harvested fresh, they are tasty.
Hmm, I'm surprised about the negatives on Clemson Spineless. I've grown a few ruby types with poor results but none of the other varieties mentioned. I'm open to trying others though I've been able to save seed from Clemson Spineless for many years and had reliable results. I'm prejudiced about C.S.. I've cut it very large and still had tender okra. My only complaint...the plants get ten feet tall and I have to stand on a ladder in my small space garden to pick. lol
Maybe folks have a fixed idea about how okra should best be cooked? We eat the smaller ones raw, pickled, stewed, fried, stir fried, sauteed and gumboed. We fritter and pancake the big guys. We are often away from our garden for a week or more and thrilled to find overgrown okra for fritters! Maybe your varietal choice should be based on how you intend to use it?
Clemson Spineless...best bet for me. Last year I bought C.S.plants from the nursery and direct seeded Silver Queen. The C.S. took off like a rocket while the Silver Queen produced quite a bit, it did'nt meet full potential due to the onset of cold weather. Okra likes it HOT. This year I will be starting plants in the greenhouse....Cowhorn and Emerald just to try something different.
Last year I grew one called North and South. It didn't get tall, had lots of branches and the okra was good if picked small. One drawback, it was not spineless.
The only reason I planted the okra was to shade some melons from the hot sun, but we did enjoy quite a bit of the okra in a spicy African dish and in stir fry.
I like that I don't have to rush out to pick the cowhorns. They stay tender even at 12". This gives me time to pick.
I have a variety called Lee, and I have the Emerald's, too.
I'm looking forward to sowing my seeds this season.
MaupopLaurel, how do you make okra fritters?
We made okra fritters last year and it was an experience! LOL Good, but there was wayyyyyyyyy too much for DH and I to eat all by ourselves, so we'll probably stick to just plain ol' boiled (with tons of butter and salt) and fried okra.
Here's a recipe someone posted back in 2006. I was looking for Artist...
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Okra Fritters
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper
3 tablespoons chopped parsley, fresh
2 cups sliced okra
Combine all ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil. Fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
Molamola, your recipe looks very interesting. It has more ingredients than mine. The original recipe I used had chopped onion, but I replaced that with green onion. I don't use cheese or evaporated milk. Boojum, from "Orchids" forum sent me a recipe from her DBF that I tweaked. Let me revisit that in the next few days and post. I've made zucchini fritters for years, as hors d' oeuvers, with a variety of dippers and adapted her DBF's recipe to mine.
We eat a lot of garden veggie savory leftovers for breakfast. The fritters go from crunchy, when fresh, to pancake-like as leftovers. We have them for bkfst. with sour cream or, more frequently, homemade Greek style yogurt and salsa). They are then okra pancakes. Not for those that think of bkfst. as a sweet roll. I understand. They are great leftover sides with a salad for lunch.
I'm working crazy hours right now, but will post in a few days.
L
Molamola and Laurel.
Both your recipes sound delicious! I am just learning to enjoy okra and find I can tolerate it fried. When I make it for my son and husband they like it boiled in enough water to tenderize them, then add salt and butter. I think I would like them in fritter form and especially the breakfast recipe with the yogurt and salsa! Do you just put a layer of yogurt on them and add salsa? How do you make your Greek yogurt?
Grief, the proverbial can of worms Gardadore! lol Give me a few days and I'll post again. We never eat it boiled or with butter. It's great cut in 1/2-3/4 inch slices and pan sauteed over medium high heat, in peanut oil, olive oil or other oil for just two or three minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Little cayenne if desired. Plain and simple preparation and it does not get slimey! It's a great side dish or eat it as a snack instead of nuts or use it to top salads. Okra can be served crunchy without all the breading and hoopla.