What is okra?
A: Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family.
It has edible green what?
A: Seed pods.
The geographical origin of okra is what?
A: Disputed, with supporters of West African,
Ethiopian, Southeast Asian,
and South Asian origins.
The plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and
warm temperate regions around the world and is a notable part of the cuisine
of what?
A: The Southern United States as well as
Middle Eastern cuisine, Indian
cuisine, Brazilian cuisine and Sri Lankan cuisine.
The first use of the word okra (alternatively; okro or
ochro) appeared when?
A: In 1679 in the Colony of Virginia.
In Indian cuisine it is known as what?
A: Bhindi.
The Egyptians and Moors of the 12th and 13th centuries
used the Arabic word for the plant, bamya, suggesting it had come into Egypt
from where?
A: Arabia, but earlier it was probably taken from Ethiopia to Arabia.
How was the plant introduced to the Americas?
A: By ships plying the Atlantic slave trade by 1658, when its presence was
recorded in Brazil.
By 1748, it was being grown as far north as where?
A: Philadelphia.
Who noted it was well established in Virginia by 1781?
A: Thomas Jefferson.
The species is a perennial, often cultivated as what?
A: As an annual in temperate climates, often growing to around 2 metres (6
ft 7 in) tall.
As a member of the Malvaceae, it is related to such
species as what?
A: Cotton, cocoa, and hibiscus.
The leaves are 10–20 centimeters (4–8 in) long and
broad, palmately lobed with how many lobes?
A: 5–7 lobes.
The flowers are 4–8 centimeters (1+5⁄8–3+1⁄8 in) in
diameter, with five white to yellow petals, often with a what?
A: A red or purple spot at the base of each petal.
The pollens are spherical and approximately what
diameter?
A: 188 microns in diameter.
The fruit is a capsule up to 18 centimeters (7 in) long
with pentagonal cross-section, containing what?
A: Numerous seeds.
It prefers a soil temperature of what?
A: At least 20 °C (68 °F) for germination, which occurs between six days
(soaked seeds) and three weeks.
As a tropical plant, it also requires a lot of what?
A: Sunlight, and it should also be cultivated in soil that has a pH between
5.8 and 7, ideally on the acidic side.
The seed pods rapidly become fibrous and woody and, to
be edible as a vegetable, must be harvested when?
A: When immature, usually within a week after pollination.
The first harvesting will typically be ready after how
long?
A: About 2 months of plantation, and it will be approximately 2–3 inches
(51–76 mm) long.
What is the most common disease afflicting the okra
plant?
A: Verticillium wilt, often causing a yellowing and wilting of the leaves.
In the United States much of the supply is grown where?
A: In Florida, especially around Dade in southern Florida.
Yields range from less than 18,000 pounds per acre
(20,000 kg/ha) to how much?
A: Over 30,000 pounds per acre (34,000 kg/ha).
Wholesale prices can go as high as how much?
A: $18/bushel which is $0.60 per pound ($1.3/kg).
The pods of the plant are mucilaginous, resulting in
the characteristic "goo" or slime when the seed pods are what?
A: Cooked.
The mucilage contains what?
A: Soluble fiber.
One possible way to de-slime okra is to cook it with
what?
A: An acidic food, such as tomatoes, to minimize the mucilage.