For skeptics and lifelong fans alike, it's hard to beat the joys of pickled okra. The green flowering fruit, sometimes known as lady's fingers, has likely origins in northeast Africa, but they've made such an impact stateside that they are practically synonymous with Southern cooking.
Okra slime, or mucilage, is a type of sugar and is only released in the pickling process if the pods have been crushed, split, or cut in some way. The vinegar in pickling liquid does a good deal to nullify the slime factor, but the simple yet crucial key is to ensure your okra tubes are packed tight without any breakage.
Pickling okra is the best way to beat sliminess, but it's also a fantastic way to give the fruit a crunch and imbue it with various brine and spice-based flavors. Steal a step from one of the masters of food, Wolfgang Ban of Seäsonal in New York City, by pickling okra using his brine recipe.
Once you've cooked your brine, you can pack and seal the okra pods overnight or even for a few weeks, depending on how intense you want the infusion to be.
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