Freezing Okra
Tips for Freezing Okra
Freezing okra may help you preserve the plant for a longer period. If you grow your own okra and have more than you can eat right away, freezing okra is a good solution. The process of freezing okra isn’t that hard, but many people don’t like to go through the labor of doing it correctly.
Here are some tips to help you keep your okra in tiptop condition even after freezing.
Choosing the Best Okra
If you intend on freezing okra, or at least a portion of your purchase, you should choose the smooth variety of okra rather than the ridged variety, as they are more likely to break in the process of preparation.
The sign of a healthy okra pod is its unblemished greenness. If you notice any brown spots or breaks on the surface of the pod, this is a bad omen and you should wean these members out of your selection.
If possible you may want to choose okra that is all fairly similarly sized rather than sort them later. I find this a distraction when choosing good okra and think you are better off just getting healthy okra at this stage.
Preparing the Okra
The first step to freezing okra is preparing them for boiling. Place them in a colander in your sink and rinse them off. This is also a good point to sort them into two groups: large pods and small pods.
While you are doing this step, you should set a pot of water to boil.
Once you have washed and sorted your okra, cut off the stems with a sharpened knife. Be careful not to puncture the chamber that holds the seeds so your will not get water inside and ruin the flavor of the vegetable.
Do not leave the okra out for too long once you have begun to cut the stems as they may begin to brown.
Boil then Cool
Discard the stems, and then dump one of your groups into the boiling water. Boil for three to four minutes depending on the size. The smaller ones should be closer to three, the larger to four.
While you boil the okra, draw out a pot filled with cold water and ice.
This boiling process will give the okra a pale look. That is why cooks call it blanching.
Once you have blanched the okra, immediately drop the pods into the cold water. This will stop the boiling process.
Freezing Okra
Remove the okra from the cold water and place them on paper towel. Dry them off.
Now place them in Ziploc bags. Be careful to keep as much excess water out as possible.
Squeeze out all the air and seal. Place them in the freezer until they are ready for use.
Final Cooking Tip
If you like okra but the icky, slimy quality it sometimes takes on puts you off, here is a good tip. When you prepare your okra, look to sauté it quickly in medium heat. This will firm it up and keep it from getting that unpleasant, viscous texture.
An Exotic Recipe Tip
Here, is a recipe tip that comes from South America. In the northern part of Brazil, they prepare a dish called Frango com quiabo (“Chicken with okra”). Here’s how you make it:
Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for a half hour with salt, pepper, and paprika. Wash the chicken off before cooking it with onions.
Cut the okra into wheels, then dry them well and sauté them until they are nicely cooked (without slime)—this can sometimes take up to 20 minutes.
Fry the chicken in a pan until it is nice and cooked through.
Add a ¾ cup of water and cook with onions, covered for 20 minutes.
Add the okra and cook until the okra and chicken mingle. Drain the excess liquid.
Serve with Brazilian style beans, rice, and Italian polenta.