Okra 'Hill Country Red' / 'Texas Hill Country Red'

Beautiful, historic variety from southern Texas. The rather large, thick fruits follow a beautiful, light yellow bloom and are green with a red blush. Okra came to America through slavery, as its origin is in Africa. Did you know that the leaves are also edible? Young in salads and older in stir-fries... The seeds of overripe fruits are roasted to make a coffee substitute.

Okra is a versatile and ornamental, yellow or white flowering summer vegetable with many edible parts! The most important and well-known part are the pod-shaped fruits. These are best when harvested very young and are fried, boiled (thickens sauces and soups) or pickled. The delightfully soft texture is very popular in Mediterranean and Asian cuisine. The seeds can be ground or cooked and incorporated into bread or Tofu and Tempeh. Roasted seeds are one of the best coffee substitutes! The leaves, flower buds and flowers are edible in stir-fries or soups. The leaves can also be dried for later use in soup. Finally, the roots are also edible for preparing, for example, a vegetable broth; remove the roots after simmering, as they are tough. Very popular in Central America and South America (Surinamese cuisine, for example)

Names:
Latin: Abelmoschus esculentus, or also Hibiscus esculentus
Dutch: Okra
Also: Hibiscus esculentus
English: Okra, Lady's Finger