Directions
The list of benefits of using okra is long, as it is rich in many vitamins and minerals.
This fruit is extremely healthy, because it gives energy and helps the normal function of the body, it is recommended to include it in meals if you want to reduce body weight, it strengthens the bones, it is an excellent food for diabetes, an excellent food for eyesight, it reduces the risk of dementia and helps in inflammatory processes of the stomach.
These are just some of the benefits, why you should start consuming okra more often.
The end of August and September is okra season and you can use it to prepare many recipes or store it in several ways to have it in the winter.
Details on how to preserve okra in several ways, or how to prepare delicious okra with beef and rice, can be found in the link at the end of this post.
When preparing okra pickle, you need to pay attention to several details and finally pasteurize it.
This fruit emits mucus when it is cut, so when picking fruits for pickles, it should be healthy, with closed tops and not cut low in the part of the stalks.
This way the okra will keep the mucus inside and when pasteurizing you will have a clear liquid.
You need to use freshly picked and healthy okra, wash it well in two or three waters and leave it on a kitchen towel to drain.
From one kilogram of okra, you can fill 5-6 small and medium-sized jars.
I like to fill the pickle in smaller jars so that it is fresh and when one jar is opened, it is consumed whole.
Preparation
1 kg okra
1 liter of water
250 ml of white vinegar (9% vinegar)
50 grams of salt
25 grams of sugar
dry bay leaf
5-6 cloves of garlic (peeled)
coriander seeds (or black pepper)
Preparation
Wash the okra well under cold water two or three times, until you are sure that is clean well, then let it drain on a kitchen towel, be careful and do not use soda bicarbonate to wash the vegetables when preparing the pickle.
Cut off the stalks about half an inch above the root, being careful not to cut the upper part of the okra to keep the mucilage inside.
Check each fruit in the tops for soundness, if the tops are cracked do not use it in the pickle.
Select only healthy fruits and fill the jars nicely with them. It is important to press them well so that they do not rise when you pour the liquid over them.
In each jar, add a dry bay leaf (1-2) to taste, one peeled garlic clove, and coriander seeds to taste, which you can also replace with black peppercorns.
It is important that the jars you use are sterile.
Beforehand, wash them well and put them in the oven at 130 degrees for 15 minutes, then fill them. Sterilize the lids together with the jars.
After preparing the jars and arranging the okra, prepare the liquid to cover them with.
In one kilogram of water, add 250 ml of white vinegar, 50 grams of salt and 25 grams of sugar. Sugar is a preservative that does not change the taste of the pickle. When the liquid boils, pour it over the okra jars and close.
To make sure that they are well closed, i recommend to pasteurize them with a water bath. Fill a wide container with water, place a towel at the bottom and arrange the closed jars. It is necessary to have water up to the middle of the jars. Boil the jars in the water bath for about fifteen minutes.
Then take them out and let them cool completely at room temperature.
You can consume them after 10 days.
Have a good appetite!
