Canning Okra for Frying
When using this canning method, this fried okra tastes just like fresh okra from the garden, even in the middle of winter.
By Yankee Magazine|Oct 01 2017|
Canning Okra for Frying
Photo Credit:When using this canning method, this fried okra tastes just like fresh okra from the garden, even in the middle of winter.
Editors’ Note: This is a user-submitted recipe and has not been tested by our editors. Before attempting to can any type of food, we suggest learning about proper canning guidelines.
Yield
4 quarts
Ingredients
4 quarts water
4 quarts Okra (cut)
1/2 cups vinegar
4 tablespoons Canning Salt
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a pot on stove and bring to a boil and then turn heat off, you do not want to cook the okra.
Heat lids and jars for canning per normal canning guidelines.
Fill jars to within 1/2″ of head space and seal.
Turn upside down and leave for 2 days.
When you are ready to fry, dump the jar of okra into a strainer, do not rinse. Take the okra and toss in cornmeal and fry as normal.
If I understand right. You dont actually can them? Just pour the warm in and they seal themselves. Sorry I’m new at canning and need help. 🙂
No it has to be real HOT you want to make sure that it seal if not sealed it will go bad. I have never heard of leaving stuff upside down for two days you don’t know if it has sealed right away. I have been doing canning for 50 plus years. Just be careful if you do this. Have a nice day Barbie..
How do you can okra to fry an it taste like fresh
Sandy, my mother-in-law ALWAYS canned her okra washed, trimmed, cut up and placed in quart jars packed to the bottom of the neck, 1 tsp canning salt, no water, processed 20 minutes 10lbs pressure. When ready to cook, she just dumped into a bowl, mealed it and fried it. The okra shrunk down in the jars but it made plenty and it was so good. I do mine that way too, I also cut up green tomatoes, yellow squash and if I have an extra potato without a mate, I cut it up and add all to the okra. This fills up my LARGE electric skillet and feeds my big family at gatherings. I am 70 years old and I have doing this type of okra canning for 50 years. Hope this helps. Also, the canning on this page is very good also. A friend from church works for Alabama Extension Corporation, she went to Auburn College and knows all about gardening and canning. She uses this recipe on this page and it is very good but you have to rinse under cold water, I have tried it too and it is really good.
I am so excited to read your comment. I have a strong aversion to vinegar and am excited to try your method. I have a few questions. First, what is the end result as far as texture of the okra when using this method? Second, Have you ever used this method for summer squash? Lastly, how long does the okra hold up, once it’s canned using this method? Sorry for all the questions. Thank you in advance!
Edna, I just read your comment where your Mother in law canned okra without blanching first and did not fill with water. This is not on the national guide for canning. This is how I remember my Mother canning it. I’m going to try this method even though it’s not blanched. As hot as it gets in the pressure canner and boiling water, I can’t see that this wouldn’t kill any botulism. I don’t like okra canned in vinegar water. I have tried it and can’t wash that vinegar out.
Thanks for your info.
I am going to try this tonight. I may only do a 1/2 portion to be on the safe side. Turning the jars upside down is a old timers trick to make sure the seals get hot. Leaving them upside down 2 days is to check the seal and know which if any jars a leaking.
I want to know if this will keep for 6mo. to 1year. the recipe is not really clear. do I put th okra in the water?
Hi Joyce,
This recipe was submitted by a reader and has not been tested by our editors.
This is not a safe canning recipe for room-temperature storage of okra. There is not enough acid in the liquid to prevent spoilage, and correct sealing of canned items with correct amounts of acid requires water-bath canning.
This method is perfectly acceptable method of canning okra and squash. The vinegar gives just what is needed to kill any chance of bacteria. Will last several years if sealed properly.
Nope, it’s not safe. The ratio of acid to water is too low to prevent botulism, which grows in airless low-acid environment. If you’ve been using it and didn’t get sick you’ve been lucky, but it’s risky. Even hot water bath is risky at low acid levels.
Thank you for making this comment. I have been seeing this recipe in a few places on the internet and it doesn’t seem remotely safe (not enough acidity to can this way). Look, just because you’ve done it doesn’t make it risky and botulin can kill you.
This IS NOT a SAFE method of canning okra. Botulism will grow and you could get really sick. Please DO NOT USE THIS method
I have done this the past couple of years, I have not had any problem with mine, I finished the last jar of 2013 a couple months ago. It was great! Like the taste better than when just picked and fried.
Ok… if you have done this please chime in! after storing the okra this way … does the water turn a little cloudy in a couple of days? I did this.. the seals “popped and sealed within a few minutes… how do I know how long to keep it..and what does the cloudiness mean? thanks
Did you use iodized salt? That will make your water cloudy
Do you remove the stems or cut them or just wash and put in jars ?
Hi Joyce,
This recipe was submitted by a reader and has not been tested by our editors.
This is the best okra, never had no problems.
I have canned okra for a couple of years and harvested and saved it in freezer many years and this is the best tasting like fresh. I have processed some of this in canner at 10 pound pressure for 10 minutes. The ones I turned upside down sealed as well as those processed.
I have can okra like this years. I don’t turn it upside down. I do run clear water over it before frying do not add extra salt before frying. Will keep for years.
I would not add the okra till all the other ingredients have already come to a boil. THEN add the okra and bring everything back to a boil again. That way it will not cook as long. Make sure everything is hot-hot-hot: jars, lids, bands included. Be sure to wipe off the rim of the jar with a piece of paper towel soaked in vinegar before you put the flat and the band on. I don’t turn the jars upside-down, instead after I tighten the band I tip the jar AWAY from me and turn the jar all the way around. Then let sit on the counter till it seals. Sometimes, you might have a flaw in your jar or the lid and the contents will leak out if it’s upside down. With “tipping the jar”, it might sputter, which is why you tip it away from you. If it does this, you need to remove the band and the flat, wipe the rim of the jar again, put on a new band and flat, and try it again. If it sputters a second time, use a different jar.
I have been canning for years now but am new to okra. Don’t you need to process okra in a pressure cooker?
This recipe left out a lot of information. Wash your okra and cut off both ends. Cut okra to the size you normally cut it for frying. Meanwhile, boil your water, vinegar (apple cider vinegar is my preference) and salt (don’t use iodized salt it will make the water cloudy). Once the water mixture has come to a roiling boil add the okra and boil for an additional 8 minutes. Your jars, lids and rings should be hot and ready to fill. Add hot okra to each jar and fill with liquid to 1/2inch from top. Clean around the jar with a paper towel and vinegar to remove any okra slime. Put on lid and ring and screw down tight. As the okra cools it should seal. I hope this helps!!
My okra tastes a bit vinegar-y when I go to fry it. Drained it, ran water over it. Salt and peppered, added cornmeal. Is there something I can do to mask that flavor?
Edna, your mother in law, she used NO LIQUID at all?
I was given this recipe by a 90 yr old lady in 2014. I used it and I just opened and cooked a jar I canned from 2014 and it is still perfect tried Okra.. It is 2019..
What’s the best recipe for okra??
I was reading about how to can okra and squash . Just wondering if you could do green tomatoes this way.
This is not a safe recipe for canning. Please don’t follow it. I recommend checking out the USDA’s canning guide for safe, tested recipes (on the internet, do a search) or if you want to buy a great guide for beginners (or check it out from the library) get the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. It’s nice to get recipes from the internet, but a beginner who doesn’t understand the basics of food safety should use a tested reliable resource.
It is most definitely safe. Once it’s sealed it is very safe. My family has been using this method for decades and it works great.
If person gets sick or dies because of following bad recipe. Follow Usda canning rules but giving advice otherwise is just wrong. Been canning fifty five years.
Even if not safe, boiling foods for 10 minutes or deep frying will destroy any toxins. My family had used this recipe for generations.
I’ve been reading all the comments. I’ve had numerous folks talk about this recipe for canning. Talking about acid….Can citric acid not be added to help with preserving ?
My water turned cloudy after a couple days, is that normal?
Yes your okra is okay. Okra itself becomes a little cloudy, but if you used iodized salt it will also cloudy up the liquid.
I have been using this recipe for canning okra since my grandmother taught me when I was little. My family has never had any problems with eating it.
I did not get an answer
Hi Shirlene. This recipe was submitted by a user and has not been tested by editors. Before attempting to can any type of food, we suggest learning about proper canning guidelines.
This is to Edna E
I think my Mother canned okra like you described. So you don’t add any water in the jars of okra?? I remember my Mother’s always shrank down in the jars, but I don’t remember her not having any water in the bottom of the jars. Will the jars not break in the pressure canner with no water in them?
Thanks for your help.
I was told to use sea salt and purified water so as not to get the cloudy water. I am getting ready to try it now.