# The Great Frozen Okra Experiment



## Mesa Goat Man (May 12, 2012)

I am rather adventurous when it comes to canning. No, I am not unsafe. But when I read you could not pressure can cauliflower I asked why? So I canned some last year. Well, the pigs liked it. The pickled cauliflower we canned earlier this year came out very well.

Last year I wanted to can some pickled okra but the okra from my local farmer market was not up to par for pickles. Mostly it was too big for good okra pickles and the smaller ones were less than desirable. So this year I set out to grow my own okra and pickle them at just the size I wanted.

The trick I knew would be how to save those okra from my planting of 15 plants.To get enough at one time to pickle 6-7 pints.









What would happen to the okra if I picked them and froze them in a Ziploc bag? My biggest fear was instant mush when they thawed out. I figured a quart bag would do about 3-4 pints. So I can begin to save okra a few every other day until I was averaging 6-8 pickle size okra every other day. Once I had saved 2 1/3 Ziploc bags full it was time for phase 2.









I stuck the okra in the refrigerator the night before theorizing a slow thaw would be better. The next day I put up 14 qts of whole kernel corn first in my pressure canner.

Saving the best for last I pulled the okra out of the refrigerator. Keen observation indicated some were still frozen and some were turning dark. Undaunted, I ventured forth. I washed the okra and did not trim the okra at all to prevent slimation. I packed my jars and filled them with my pickling brine.

















In the jars they did look rather good. Hope sprang eternal and I sallied forth in to the boiling water bath. 15 Minutes at a good rolling boil and 5 minutes with the heat off and I popped them out of the water trying to prevent over processing.







Now, all I have to do is wait a couple of weeks for the spices to take and the proof will be in the pudding or in this case the okra.


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Very interesting - please keep us posted. I'm a big fan of okra, but sliced/breaded & fried is my preference. This is a stupid question, but since the okra is "pickled" will it have the vinegary taste associated with cuc pickles? As you can tell, I've never pickled anything in my life - except maybe my liver when I was much younger. lol


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## Mesa Goat Man (May 12, 2012)

Because of the spices but Okra has its own flavor to. Happy to report all jars s:clap:ealed properly


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## Marianne (Feb 22, 2009)

I pickle okra, can it, too, but my favorite way of freezing it is to just put washed and dried okra into a paper bag (like a lunch bag) in meal-sized amts., then a # of bags into one of those heavier paper bags from the grocer's, and into the freezer. Tastes like fresh when used. If you want to fry it, just slice before it's completely thawed. No freezer burn just in the paper bags, either.


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