2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Photo: Anna Kompaniets
Do not pass by the store counter with bright green boxes of okra, because this useful exotic is fraught with a huge amount of useful substances.
Composition and properties
Gombo, another name for okra, contains up to 20% oils that are similar in nutritional value to olive oil. The composition of this vegetable culture includes vegetable protein and all dishes made from okra will be low-calorie, ideal for dietary nutrition. Okra is a great product for those looking to lose weight, it contains only 31 calories per 100 g of product. Okra pods contain vitamins A, C, group B, mineral salts of magnesium and potassium, elements such as zinc, copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium, vanadium, ascorbic acid, cellulose.
Okra fruits are almost 90% liquid, which includes soluble fiber in the form of a slimy substance. The presence of mucus makes okra products useful for the treatment and prevention of gastritis, peptic ulcer and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Mucus protects the stomach from irritations that occur during diseases of the digestive system, plant fibers normalize the process of digesting food.
In Africa, which is considered the birthplace of okra, it was used to treat lung diseases, tonsillitis, colds. Decoctions and infusions made from the capsules of the plant help with coughing, and dishes made from okra pods are recommended for bronchitis, atherosclerosis and for strengthening blood vessels. It is useful for diabetics to eat okra fruit, while the amount of sugar in the blood decreases.
To recuperate after a major operation or a long illness, during stress or prolonged depression, include young okra ovaries in your diet. This food will restore the weakened strength of a depleted body and help to overcome the crisis periods of life. Through a scientific experiment, scientists have proven that the use of okra increases sexual potency.
Application
Okra is used with great success in cooking. Unopened young plant pods at the age of 3-4 days are suitable for food; fruits are harvested from the end of July until frost. You can use young okra leaves for food, adding them to soups or salads. A valuable, aromatic oil enriched with unsaturated fats is obtained from the seeds of this vegetable crop.
The taste of unripe okra bolls is similar to eggplant and asparagus, but with a less pungent taste, with a slight mushroom tinge. Okra can be used for culinary purposes raw, boiled, fried, combined with various seasonings and spices.
Salads, stews, side dishes, soups - these are the dishes where okra can be used, which does not require lengthy heat treatment. In addition, it is frozen, dried, canned. Vegetables, meat, fish are excellent companions for gombo and go well in one dish.
Ripe roasted seeds are used to brew a bitter beverage that tastes like coffee. And unripe seeds can be used as an alternative to green peas.
The advantage of exotic vegetable is its unique composition, which includes slimy components. During heat treatment, a lot of liquid mucus is released from this culture, and the dish turns out to be a viscous consistency. This property is used to make thick soups, sauces or other multi-ingredient dishes. If mucus is undesirable, fry the pods whole, preferably very quickly and in a hot skillet, adding vinegar, lemon juice or tomatoes.
Okra can be pickled using a simple recipe. To do this, peel the fruits, lay them in layers in a glass jar, sandwiching them with bay leaves. Prepare a brine from 2 parts of vinegar, take one part of salt and water, diluting 125 ml of brine with one liter of water; pour okra with diluted brine.
Cooking rules
Before using okra, it must be thoroughly rinsed, hairs must be removed with a hard cloth, and the stalk must be cut off.
Please note that its fruits cook very quickly and can "fall apart" in the pan. Add it to the dish at the end of the entire cooking process and do not stir with a spoon, shake the pan better. Do not cook okra in a cast iron pot, otherwise the pods will darken. Suitable spices for okra are hot red peppers, basil, thyme, curry, marjoram, onion, garlic.
The most familiar dishes will sparkle with new colors when you add wonderful green boxes to the recipe.
Okra - dietary exotic
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