I first ate okra when we moved to Florida in 1994. Shortly after we moved to Tallahassee, Annette and I took the kids to eat at Ryan's Family Steakhouse (an all-you-can-eat buffet just around the corner from where we lived).
One of the interesting items on the buffet was fried okra. We tried it and liked it.
We also found that fried okra was a frequently contributed item (along with hush puppies) at the ward potluck socials.
Because we made our own baby food and because we liked to eat a variety of vegetables at dinner, we decided that we would try okra at home. We found some okra in the fresh produce section of the grocery store and bought it to try.
.jpg) |
| fresh okra in a bowl |
While we really liked the taste of fried okra, we realized that deep-fat fried food is not the most healthy type of food to eat. So, Annette washed the okra and boiled it. Then we served it for dinner.
For those of you who don't know, the okra pod is filled with mucilage. Mucilage is (according to Google's new generative AI tool) a water-soluble, edible adhesive substance found in plants. This is the same stuff you see when you cut open an aloe vera plant leaf.
For those who don't care about all the sciency stuff behind the definition of mucilage, the okra pod is filled with okra goo. And the okra goo gets more runny, and slimy when it is boiled.
So, when we cut open one of the boiled okra pods on our plates for dinner, we experienced for the first time the slimy, runny okra goo. It was nasty!
It turns out that one of the reasons okra is served in the south as fried okra is that battering and frying okra masks the okra goo.
Needless to say, I have never eaten okra again. Not even the fried okra. I am scarred for life!
NOTE: As I wrote this post, I did some internet searching and found many sources that claim ways to cook okra that minimize the sliminess of the okra goo. I also found sources that tell you how to maximize the sliminess of the okra goo ... not that I will ever find out.
.jpeg)