Where is okra native to

While okra is grown widely in the South, it is not native to the United States. Moreover, exploring the origins of Southern cuisine deepened my connection to the food I grew up eating and instilled a greater appreciation for the cultures that created it.

Nobody truly knows where okra first appeared. Scientists believe the cultivation of the okra plant began as early as 12th century BC in Ethiopia. The plant most likely made it to the Southern United States with the beginnings of the slave trade in the s.

Okra, like rice, was one of the few crops slaves were able to bring with them from their communities in Western Africa. Upon arrival to ports scattered across the American South, enslaved workers from many different Western African Nations began to make okra dishes — drawing on the cuisines and recipes of their homelands. Okra became a mainstay of their personal gardens, providing extra sustenance when food was forcibly limited by slaveholders.

Yet culinary traditions do not often remain stagnant. Traditions change and adapt in response to pressures and the agroecology of a particular time and place. Across Western Africa, you can find okra featured in various soups and stews where the mucilaginous plant plays the role of a roux — providing thickness to an assemblage of vegetables and protein. There are several known types of okra that are believed to have been artificially selected by humans.

Its wild varieties are much harder to pin down. The most common types of okra include:. Okra and cotton are botanically related. One reason croppers in the Southern colonies of America gravitated toward okra, when it first arrived in the New World was its familiarity to the king of Southern crops: cotton.

Okra and cotton are both members of the mallow Malvaceae family of plants. Southern gardening blogger, Talya Tate Boerner , refers to the two plants as "kissing cousins".

Now, that's Southern, for sure! Okra flowers are gorgeous. Growing okra won't only get you delicious food to eat, but it can also add a burst of energy to any vegetable garden. The flower that emerges from an okra plant bears a striking resemblance to another one of its relatives: hibiscus. Would you just look at that beaut! If you live in the Southeastern United States, you might be in the perfect spot to start sprouting your own crop.

Gardeners aren't stingy with the details on how to get it done. You can find tips to get started all around the net.

Of course, okra is healthy. Okra presents a host of benefits to those who enjoy eating it. He described the plant in detail, as cultivated by the Egyptians, and stated that the pods when young and tender were eaten with meal.

Southerners in our own country know how to cook it with corn meal-slice the pods, dip the pieces in meal, and fry them. Because of the outstanding popularity of okra in the French cookery of Louisiana, and its slow gain in popularity elsewhere in this country, it is safe to assume that it was introduced to this country by the French colonists of Louisiana in the early 's.

It had been introduced to the New World, however, before , reaching Brazil supposedly from Africa. It was known in Surinam in Strangely, records of okra during early American colonial times are lacking, although it must have been common among French colonists. It was being grown as far north as Philadelphia in ; Jefferson said it was known in Virginia before , and from about onward numerous garden writers had something to say about it.

Several distinct varieties were known in As is true with a number of our less generally popular vegetables, many people fail to appreciate this one because they do not know how to use it.

The first and commonest mistake that gardeners make is to let the pods become too old and tough before harvesting them. They must be picked about 4 to 5 days after flowering, when 4 inches or so in length, before they mature and toughen. Okra comes in varying shades of green there is also a new red variety , and can be smooth or have a ribbed surface. Purchase young, tender but firm pods. They should snap easily in half.

The best varieties are a rich green color. Avoid pods that are dull and dry looking, blemished or limp. Store in a paper bag in the warmest part of refrigerator, as temperatures below 45 degrees can damage okra. It does not store well, so use within 2 or 3 days at most. Do not wash until ready to use, or it will become slimy. When preparing, remember that the more it is cut, the slimier it will become. Aluminum pots will discolor it. Mature okra is used to make rope and paper!

Avoid those old woody pods!