Okra

Appears in
Taste the State: Signature Foods of South Carolina and Their Stories
Taste the State

By Kevin Mitchell and David S. Shields

Published 2021

  • About

Clemson spineless okra, the single most famous green vegetable bred in South Carolina, long the dominant variety in commercial production. David S. Shields.

Abelmoschus esculentus. Sometimes called lady fingers or ochrois, okra (Abelmoschus esculentus is a southern food that is both revered and hated. The plant is related to cotton and hibiscus. Brought to the New World by slave traders on the middle passage to keep enslaved Africans nourished, it has become the most famous of the African diaspora foods.