The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration, by Chris Smith| Chelsea Green Publishing, 2019 | 272 pages | Softcover ISBN-13: 978-1603588072; $29.95
A native of the UK, seed saver, permaculturist, and writer Chris Smith is obsessed with okra. He is the executive director of the Utopian Seed Project, a crop-trailing non-profit working to support diversity in food and farming. Living in Asheville, North Carolina, Chris has gathered and grown more than 150 named varieties of this superfood and stored them at a local climate-controlled seed storage facility. Chris has talked with university researchers, food historians, gardeners, farmers, and chefs about this vibrant, versatile veggie. He has shared his love of okra with audiences throughout the Southeast for many years. The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration, for which Chris won a James Beard Award in 2020, is a mosaic of history, lore, growing advice, craft projects, and recipes. From learning how to de-slime, pickle, and ferment okra and eating its tasty flowers to frying its leaves and making okra fiber paper, The Whole Okra provides helpful information to current okra enthusiasts and the soon-to-be converted. Renowned author, educator, and culinary historian, Michael W. Twitty, wrote about The Whole Okra: “A love song long overdue. It is anything and everything you wanted to know about this hallmark ingredient.”
Once you get hooked on okra after delving into The Whole Okra, tune into “The Okra Pod Cast,” hosted by Chris Smith and Rebekka White: https://theokrapodcast.buzzsprout.com/
A native of the UK, seed saver, permaculturist, and writer Chris Smith is obsessed with okra. He is the executive director of the Utopian Seed Project, a crop-trailing non-profit working to support diversity in food and farming. Living in Asheville, North Carolina, Chris has gathered and grown more than 150 named varieties of this superfood and stored them at a local climate-controlled seed storage facility. Chris has talked with university researchers, food historians, gardeners, farmers, and chefs about this vibrant, versatile veggie. He has shared his love of okra with audiences throughout the Southeast for many years. The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration, for which Chris won a James Beard Award in 2020, is a mosaic of history, lore, growing advice, craft projects, and recipes. From learning how to de-slime, pickle, and ferment okra and eating its tasty flowers to frying its leaves and making okra fiber paper, The Whole Okra provides helpful information to current okra enthusiasts and the soon-to-be converted. Renowned author, educator, and culinary historian, Michael W. Twitty, wrote about The Whole Okra: “A love song long overdue. It is anything and everything you wanted to know about this hallmark ingredient.”
Once you get hooked on okra after delving into The Whole Okra, tune into “The Okra Pod Cast,” hosted by Chris Smith and Rebekka White: https://theokrapodcast.buzzsprout.com/
Kenneth McFarland
Now here’s a key element of Southern cooking I really DO love. Great post!