5 tips for unlocking the nutritional power of okra

Also known as lady's fingers or gumbo, okra has long been a staple in Creole and Cajun cooking. It's also packed with important nutrients. Here's some tips for using okra in your cooking.

• Fresh okra's prime season is summer, but it can sometimes be found in fall.
• Choose bright green pods no more than seven centimetres (three inches) long. Avoid any oversized okra, which will be fibrous and tough.
• Pods should be firm with no browning or discolouration at the tips.
• It's also sold frozen, dried and in cans.

• Okra is quite perishable. If you must store it, spread the unwashed pods in a single layer in a perforated plastic bag and refrigerate for a day or two.
• If kept longer, the okra will lose its texture and colour.

• Wash okra just before using it. Some cooks prefer to gently scrub the pods with a soft brush or towel to remove the fine fuzz on the surface.
• Others contend that scrubbing isn't necessary because the fuzz is imperceptible after cooking. Either way, cut off and discard the stem end.
• Avoid cutting into the okra's interior flesh, except when chopping the okra for stews or sautés. Its slippery juice will be released.
• Okra can be steamed, stewed, cooked in the microwave, or fried.

One of the most popular ways to cook okra as a side dish is to fry it:

1. For 500 grams (one pound) of trimmed whole okra, you'll need some flour and cornmeal in a bowl for coating, two eggs lightly beaten in a bowl plus vegetable oil for deep-frying.
2. Once the oil is hot, about 190°C (375°F), toss the okra in the flour, dip it in the eggs and then roll it in cornmeal.
3. Fry in batches, without overcrowding, until well-browned – about three minutes.
4. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

• Okra is great on the barbeque. Thread four or five pods onto two parallel skewers, to create a vegetable "ladder." Brush the pods with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Barbecue on both sides until lightly charred. Sprinkle with vinegar or lemon juice and serve hot.
• Serve raw okra on a vegetable platter with a dip.
• Okra and stewed tomatoes make a great combination. Okra keeps the tomato from becoming too watery. The acid in the tomato keeps okra from becoming too gelatinous.
• Add slices of raw okra to a salad for an extra crunch.

Packed into 250 millilitres (one cup) of okra is:

• about 65 calories
• one third the daily requirement for vitamin C
• over half the daily requirement for folate, which prevents birth defects and promotes normal growth
• fibrous pectin, which reduces cholesterol in the blood and protects against stomach ulcers and other intestinal disorders
• lutein and carotenoids, phytochemicals that help prevent blindness due to macular degeneration and cataracts

Okra is a wonderfully nutritious and flavourful vegetable that many people don't know how to use. But if you buy it fresh, you can cook it up any number of ways, and add something different to your cooking.