What's to Hate? A Look at the Whole Okra

Chris Smith, author of The Whole Okra, A Seed to Stem Celebration

Chris Smith remembers his first okra encounter well. It was at a diner in Georgia.

A native of the UK, where growing conditions are not conducive to heat-loving okra, the vegetable was foreign to him. So was the cuisine of the American south.

His recollection of that first taste of okra? Slime and grease.

While not enamoured by his first okra experience, a later gift of a dry okra seed pod—a pod with a story—ignited his interest in okra.

He began to grow it and to experiment with it in his own kitchen, using pods, leaves, flowers, stalks—even the seeds.

As that interest and his knowledge of okra grew, Smith started to teach others about it. In his quest for even more okra information, he’s spoken with food historians, researchers, farmers, and chefs.

He brings it all together in his book, The Whole Okra, A Seed to Stem Celebration.