How to cook tough okra?

Cooking Giant Okra Or, slit the pods down the side and stuff them with a bit of cheese or spicy meat mixture (an Indian mixture like kheema would be delicious) and bake at 350 F to 375 F, covered, until everything is wonderfully tender. Continue cooking uncovered until your stuffed okra and add-ons are nicely brown.

Why is my okra so tough?

If you leave them too long, the pods get hard and woody. Once you're done picking okra, store them in plastic bags in your refrigerator where they will last about a week or freeze the pods if you have too much to use.

Can you cook overgrown okra?

Okra as a Side dish

Okra has a light flavor, which is also noticeable. Remove your overgrown okra seed, and add it to a stir-fry or baked recipe. During this process, continue to stir until caramelization. When you are done mixing, you can separate the seeds from the main dish.

Can you eat hard okra?

If it's really too hard to soften even like that, you might still be able to get some use out of it as a thickener but I don't think you'll ever be eating it on its own. If you want to try thickening with it, I'd cut it into bigger chunks, so that you can easily fish them out once they've done their work.

How long does okra take to soften?

Place okra in a saucepan; add enough water to cover the okra and salt to taste; bring the water to boil. Cover the pan and cook eight to 10 minutes or until the okra is tender.

How do you tell if okra is too hard?

You can come on down it a little bit but you can still hear top and through that thing will be too tough to eat.

Can you fry hard okra?

Okra pods (Abelmoschus esculentus) are versatile vegetables that you can fry, roast and stew, as well as eat raw.

What can I do with over ripe okra?

When you find pods that are just too old or too big to really be edible, leave them alone and let them dry out. The pods should be brown and starting to open; at that point, remove them from the plant, slice them open and remove the seeds.

Why is my okra hard and stringy?

Why is my okra hard and stringy with poor flavor? It sounds like your okra was overripe. Harvest tender pods when they are 2-3 inches long.

Should okra be soft or hard?

Too large and the okra will have a flat taste, and may be too tough to eat. Too small, and the okra will be difficult to cook. Avoid okra that look shriveled or are soft when squeezed.

What does baking soda do to okra?

Viscosity peaks at neutral to alkaline pH, Preston said, which is why exposing okra to acidic ingredients, such as vinegar or tomatoes, tones it down. Some African cooks, she said, go in the other direction, adding baking soda (which raises pH to a more alkaline level) to okra soup to augment its thickening effect.

What does vinegar do to okra?

One popular way to reduce okra's sliminess is to "soak it in vinegar for 30 minutes [before cooking with it], which helps to break up and dissolve the slime," says food scientist, food industry consultant, and author Bryan Le.

Can I use bicarbonate of soda to cook OKRO?

Okra is a very nutritious vegetable. The most common way to prepare it in Zambia though involves the use of “soda” (bicarbonate of soda) which is a chemical compound. It makes the okra tasty and adds a beautiful colour but it reduces the nutrients.

How do you tenderize overgrown okra?

Cooking Giant Okra

Or, slit the pods down the side and stuff them with a bit of cheese or spicy meat mixture (an Indian mixture like kheema would be delicious) and bake at 350 F to 375 F, covered, until everything is wonderfully tender. Continue cooking uncovered until your stuffed okra and add-ons are nicely brown.

Why do you add baking soda to boiling water?

Baking soda on its own has a high pH, of course, but the boiling water will boost the alkalinity further. “When you add baking soda to boiling water, sodium bicarbonate breaks down into three compounds: sodium carbonate, water, and carbon dioxide,” says Sharma.

Why should you avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable?

This is a bad practice, however, and you should avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable. It has various unwelcome effects, such as softening the vegetable, altering the vegetable's flavor, destroying thiamine content, and hastening the loss of vitamin C.

What happens when you mix warm water and baking soda?

Baking soda added to water raises the temperature slightly. Chemical reactions are either endothermic or exothermic. Endothermic means you have to put energy (heat) in to make the reaction go while exothermic means there's energy (heat) left over. Left over heat will raise the temperature.

Which vitamin is destroyed in excess of baking soda in food?

Turns out cooking food with baking soda (a.k.a. sodium bicarbonate) can indeed damage a number of nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin D, riboflavin, thiamin, and one essential amino acid. Yet it doesn't hurt others, including vitamin A, vitamin B12, niacin, and folic acid.

What should not be mixed with baking soda?

The other thing to be careful of with baking soda is combining it with something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice. As the chemicals combine with that satisfying fizz, they form a gas. If you combine them in a sealed container, like a soda bottle, it could potentially explode and harm you.

Who should not drink baking soda and water?

People who intend on regularly consuming baking soda for health purposes should speak to a doctor first. People who have kidney disease or high blood pressure must avoid sodium bicarbonate because it can increase sodium levels in the blood. Side effects of sodium bicarbonate can include: headaches.

What happens when you drink water with pink salt and baking soda?

A 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 quart of water will make even the more acidic water alkaline. A pinch of Celtic sea salt or Himalayan pink salt in a glass of water helps nourish adrenal fatiguesufferers and boost alkalinity.

What is the disadvantage of using baking soda to vegetables?

This is a bad practice, however, and you should avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable. It has various unwelcome effects, such as softening the vegetable, altering the vegetable's flavor, destroying thiamine content, and hastening the loss of vitamin C.

What are the disadvantages of baking soda?

Long-term and overuse of baking soda can increase your risk for:

• hypokalemia, or potassium blood deficiency.
• hypochloremia, or chloride blood deficiency.
• hypernatremia, or rise in sodium levels.
• worsening kidney disease.
• worsening heart failure.
• muscle weakness and cramps.
• increased stomach acid production.

What are the five things you should never clean with baking soda?

Things You Should Never Clean With Baking Soda

• 1) Antique silver. Although baking soda can pretty quickly remove tarnish from silverware, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to use it. …
• 2) Marble. …
• 3) Ceramic cooktop. …
• 4) Aluminum. …
• 5) Gold-plated items.

Why should you not mix baking soda and vinegar?

Baking Soda And Vinegar

The mixing reaction causes the baking soda to foam up and produce carbon dioxide gas. If these chemicals are kept in a sealed container for a long time, it can cause a small explosion because the carbon dioxide will try to escape.