HISTORY OF OKRA SOUP

OKORO

Okra comes from a large vegetable plant from African origin because it is grown in tropical warm temperate climates and can be wild. The word, derived from the West African Nkrumah, it was used in by the late 1700s. Okra is usually available fresh year-round in the South and from May to October in many other areas in Africa.

OTHER ORIGIN

Okra is a member of the Mallow family and is closely related to the Hibiscus and cotton plants. It bears large yellow flowers and is sometimes planted in flower gardens for the display of yellow flowers in produce. Okra is valued for its edible green seed pods. It is also known in many English speaking countries as lady’s fingers because of its shape. Okra as known in some countries, originated in what the geobotanists call the Abyssinian centre of origin of cultivated plants, an area that includes present day Ethiopia. Okra was then taken to other parts of the world such as Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, Arabia, India and many more in an on certain way. However, Okra is known as Gumbo in America, gumbo is any dish containing okra veg. The plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world.

PRESERVATION OF OKRA

Okra may be stored in the refrigerator in a paper bag or wrapped in a paper towel in a perforated plastic bag for 2 to 3 days, or it may be frozen for up to 12 months after blanching whole for 2 minutes. Cooked Okra soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. All this can be helpful mostly for those who doesn’t leave in places like Africa where the plant is common and easy to find. Okra is a very know vegetable around the world. It can be easily dried for later use. A little dried okra can still produce as much or the same results as does the fresh ones.Okra is indigenous to tropical Africa.

OKORO SOUP

In Africa, the pods are usually sliced thinly and cooked for a long time in other to dissolves the mucilage and this creates the magic in the soup as it produces a huge amount of sliminess. Draw soups are very popular in Nigeria and Ghana and this is where okra comes in, it is often eaten with garri, cassava, pounded yam, Banku or Kenkey. In this day and age, Okra could be frozen, pickled, dried and canned. When buying fresh okra for soup, look for young pods free of bruises, tender but not soft, and no more than 4 inches long. Okra soup the African style usually goes with fish, beef, goat or lamb meat, Cooked with red oil and some other vegetable of the cookers choices and ingredients. It is known to be very sticky with thickening properties when prepared and needs techniques to eat. A first eater will end up having half of the soup on them self if care is not taken. Gumbos, Brunswick stew, and pilaus are some well known okra used dish in America. Okra can be served raw, marinated in salads or cooked on its own. it is a magical vegetable whose texture varies dramatically depending on how it is cooked.