Okra

The seedpod of a tropical Asian, possibly African, plant, Abelmoschus esculentus, much used by the Greeks and cultivated by the Egyptians in the 12th century BC, but not mentioned in any ancient Western texts. In the 16th century, when Africans were enslaved by the Spanish and brought to the New World, they brought with them the few things they could, including the plants and seeds from home-dried peas, yams, ackee and okra. By the 19th century, when the slave trade was finally abolished, okra was an important part of the cuisine of the Caribbean and the southern U.S. In and around New Orleans, the Creoles, American descendants of the European settlers, adopted a popular American dish called gumbo, which is very close to gombo, the Portuguese word for okra, gumbo's most important ingredient. Native Americans used filé powder (the dried pounded leaves of the sassafras tree) to thicken sauce, but okra was welcomed as a more satisfactory alternative.

A relative of the hibiscus, okra is a lantern-shaped pod or capsule, usually from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long, containing rows of seeds; when cooked, it oozes a mucilaginous liquid. Okra is usually harvested and eaten unripe, about two or three days after the first appearance of the pods, when they're at their most tender and flavorful stage of development. In full maturity, the pods become hard and fibrous. Okra is a staple in the American South, but for Arabs, it's a delicacy reserved for special occasions. It's best not to wash okra until it's ready for use, because it removes the protective coating that keeps the pods from becoming viscous. Okra is not much used in any European country except Greece, where it is used most famously in a delicious stew of lamb and okra. In England, okra is known as ladyfinger or lady's finger.

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