Did you know this about this southern favorite?
The name okra...is an African word that means gumbo. It's a product from the slave trade and the proper way to pronounce it is "Okry" you should hear the 'e' on the end, the original word was "Okri". Most people don't know that red (also called purple or burgandy) is the old original southern okra. It gets twice as long and doesn't get hard unless left to over ripe. All the old timers where I live, grew up on the stuff. Sold here as Burgandy. The green shipped better without willting, so became the most common commerical okra and that's why it became popular, but wasn't until after the 1900's. I too grew up on the green, but after researching and talking to all the old folk, and growing it side by side to green, It's all we grow now. It's getting back to our roots, and 10x better okry! Not to mention the anthocyanins that it contains due to the rich color. These are those cancer fighting agents found in dark purple or blue fruits and veggies. They have been proven effective at fighting cancer in both lab and human studies, with a success rate ranging from 50% to 80%. So next garden season, you may want to include this fabulous item in your garden patch. And when you hear an old timer say "okry", don't laugh, they're saying it right! :)
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