Blanching Okra and Freezing for later use

With the onset of rains, the okra is producing again.  Okra is a very easy crop to grow.  You do have to harvest it every day, though.  If you don't, the pods become 'woody' and aren't good for anything other than throwing them in the compost pile.  We have both Clemson Spineless and Burgundy okra planted and they make a nice visual feast when harvesting.

A colander full of fresh picked okra

We eat all we can.  Primarily we'll cook down the okra with some tomatoes and onion with a little lemon juice to cut the 'slime factor.'  Tricia has also begun to cook a Tomato & Okra Curry recipe that is quickly becoming a family favorite.  Each year we also can a bunch of jars of pickled okra.  What a great snack that is!

When the harvest exceeds our ability to eat them all, we'll start blanching and freezing them for winter (or for what we call Gumbo Season!)  Here's how we do it:  First we wash the okra.  Put a pot of water on the stove and get it boiling.  While you're waiting, cut the stems off of the okra pods.  You don't want to cut the stem all the way to where it exposes the seeds though.

Ignore the green beans on the left.  I was prepping both for blanching

Once our water comes to a boil, drop the whole okra pods into the boiling water.  When the water returns to a boil, set your kitchen timer for 3 1/2 minutes.  The unfortunate thing about the beautiful burgundy okra is that cooking it fades its vibrant color.  Oh well, it was pretty to look at while it lasted.  It tastes exactly the same as traditional green okra.

Adding okra pods to a pot of boiling water

Once the timer goes off, immediately remove the okra from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and add them to a container of iced water.  This shocks the okra and immediately stops the cooking process.  Leave in the ice water until they are completely cool.  Now we can freeze the okra.

Icing down the okra

Before bagging them up, we'll cut the pods into slices.

Slicing the okra

Then we'll bag them up in individual quart sized freezer bags and label them.

Bagging them up

Here is a close-up shot of the sliced okra that has been bagged and will soon be stacked in the freezer.

Chop Chop!  It's in the bag...

Some might just see okra, but me?  I see the beginnings of a chicken, okra, and sausage gumbo that will be served up with rice on a cold day to satisfy your hunger and warm your bones.