okra

n.

1. 1. A tall tropical Asian annual plant (Abelmoschus esculentus) widely cultivated in warm regions for its edible, mucilaginous green pods.
   2. The edible pods of this plant, used in soups and as a vegetable. Also called gumbo.
2. See gumbo (sense 2).

[Of West African origin, akin to Akan (Twi) nkruma.]

For more information on okra, visit Britannica.com.

A warm-season annual, Hibiscus esculentus, of Ethiopian origin. Okra, also called gumbo, is grown for its immature pods (see illustration), which are generally used for preparing soups but are also eaten as a freshly cooked vegetable. It is a member of the order Malvales and is related to cotton. Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana are important producing states. See also Malvales.

Okra pods. (Asgrow Seed Co., subsidiary of The Upjohn Co.)

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Also known as gumbo, bamya, bamies, and ladies' fingers; edible seed pods of Hibiscus esculentus. Small ridged mucilaginous pods resembling a small cucumber, grown in south America, the West Indies, and India; used in soups and stews. There are two varieties: gomba are oblong, bamya are round. A 100-g portion (raw) is a rich source of vitamin C; a good source of calcium; a source of carotene (500 μg), vitamin B₁, and folate; contains 4 g of dietary fibre; supplies 30 kcal (125 kJ).

[OH-kruh] Ethiopian slaves brought the okra plant to America's South, where it's still popular today. The green okra pods have a ridged skin and a tapered, oblong shape. Although available fresh year-round in the South, the season for the rest of the country is from about May through October. When buying fresh okra look for firm, brightly colored pods under 4 inches long. Larger pods may be tough and fibrous. Avoid those that are dull in color, limp or blemished. Refrigerate okra in a plastic bag for up to 3 days. Canned and frozen okra is also available. These green pods can be prepared in a variety of ways including braising, baking and frying. When cooked, okra gives off a rather viscous substance that serves to thicken any liquid in which it is cooked. Throughout the South, it's a favorite ingredient in many dishes, the best known being gumb.o, where it's used both for thickening and for flavor. Fresh okra contains fair amounts of vitamins A and C.

from Ibo
This word originated in Nigeria

Although to Americans it seems native to the southeastern United States, okra is an import from Africa. Both the word and the plant come from Ibo territory in Nigeria, at the inside corner of the continent where West Africa turns south. This okra plant grows five to ten feet tall or more. When we talk of cooking okra, we mean its narrow, pointed, gooey seed pods, best picked at two to four inches before they reach full maturity.

A basic Nigerian recipe goes like this: Chop okra into small pieces, cover with water in a pot, and cook for fifteen minutes. It makes a side dish to go with amala (boiled elubo flour) or obe ata (pepper soup).

But you can do far more with okra. Thanks to its thickness yet near-tastelessness, okra can show up in almost any recipe. Okra can be boiled, fried, stewed, pickled, or stir-fried with dried fruit in Syrian style. You can serve a dish from India called Okra Kaalun (Okra in Spicy Yogurt). There's a Texas recipe called Confetti involving okra with chopped onion, tomatoes, and fresh corn, sauteed and cooked in a skillet. In a pinch, dried okra seeds make a tolerable coffee substitute. The ultimate okra dish, though, is gumbo, which deserves an entry all to itself (and gets it a little later in our African tour).

Okra was brought to the Americas from Africa long ago, and ever since it has prompted a love-hate relationship. It is described in English in a 1707 account of Jamaica. An 1834 traveler to the West Indies wrote, "The only native vegetable, which I like much, is the ochra, which tastes like asparagus."

Ibo is one of the principal national languages of Nigeria, spoken by seventeen million people, about one-sixth of the population. It is a Benue-Congo language of the Niger-Congo language family. Ibo has also given English the name of an enormous deep-water fish, the opah (1750), a.k.a. moonfish. You don't have to go to Africa for opah; the brightly colored fish, weighing one hundred pounds or more, can be caught in the waters of Hawaii too. And in 1995, a five-foot-long opah, with bright red fins and gold and silver scales, washed up in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - okra

Nederlands (Dutch)
een soort peulvrucht

Français (French)
n. - (Bot, Culin) okra, gombo

Deutsch (German)
n. - (bot.) Eßbarer Eibisch, Gumbo

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) μπάμια

Italiano (Italian)
abelmosco

Português (Portuguese)
n. - quiabo (m)

Русский (Russian)
охра

Español (Spanish)
n. - quingombó

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (grönsak) okra, gumbo

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
秋葵, 秋葵荚

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 秋葵, 秋葵莢

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 오크라

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - オクラ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نبات الباميا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮במיה (ירק-מאכל)‬

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