Okra
Selection Information
Usage: Cooked or pickled - often used in Creole dishes.
Selection: Good-quality okra will be firm, dry and you should feel a soft fuzz similar to a peach on the skin which will have no blemishes. The coloring will be medium to dark green (a few varieties are white). The shape can be either short and stocky or long and slim.
Avoid: Avoid product that is soft, wet, has dark spots on the skin or brown, soft stems.
Seasonal Information
Okra is available year-round, peaking June through August.
Okra Nutritional Information
|
Serving Size: 100g
|
|
| Amount Per Serving |
|
|
Calories 31
|
Calories from Fat 0
|
|
|
% Daily Value* |
|
Total Fat 0g |
0% |
|
Saturated Fat 0.1g |
0% |
|
Cholesterol 0mg |
0% |
|
Sodium 8mg |
0% |
|
Total Carbohydrate 7g |
2% |
|
Dietary Fiber 3g |
13% |
|
Sugars 1g |
|
|
Protein 2g |
|
|
Vitamin A 7% |
Vitamin C 35% |
|
Calcium 8% |
Iron 4% |
|
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. |
|
Okra is low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. Okra is also a good source of Protein, Riboflavin, Niacin, Iron, Zinc and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Manganese.
Okra Tips & Trivia
- Closely related to the cotton plant, okra seed pods are harvested when immature.
- The okra plant originated in the Near East and came to America with the slave trade.
- The name okra comes from the Gold Coast of Africa language twi, as "nkruman," and was gradually abridged to okra.
- Slaves from Angola called okra "ngumbo" which became gumbo, still a widely-used synonym by which many okra dishes are described.