Pickled Okra

I grew up eating Okra and I love it. It  has a different texture and one would have to acquire the taste I think.  It is a very common vegetable in the Philippines. When I moved to western Canada, I could only find them an Asian store, where as here I can find them in most of the food store. I was impressed the first few Sundays I was at church, sisters with home garden were giving away their extra Okra, I was in heaven.

Last Christmas, a friend gave me a jar of pickled Okra for a present. I hesitated for about 3 months thinking that although I like Okra, I couldn't really imagine the taste of pickled slimy Okra. When I finally opened the jar and tried it, I wished I had opened it sooner. It was not what I expected at all. It was crunchy and almost better than the fresh ones. I really enjoyed it so I decided to pickle some of my pickles from the garden.

I followed a recipe by Paula Deen.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs fresh Okra
3 teaspoons dried dill
3 teaspoons sugar
2 cups of water
1 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons canning and pickling salt
3 (1 pint) canning jars, with lids, sterilized
My addition:
1/2  teaspoon of Ball Pickle crisp granules, in each jar

Preparation:
Sterilize all jars and lids. Note that this recipe is for 3 pint jars. Divide Okras evenly between the 3 jars. Place 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of dill (or Italian seasoning), and 1/2 teaspoon of pickle crisp granules.

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring it to a boil. While mixture is still hot, pour it into the jar and fill it up leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Wipe the bottle rim clean and place lids. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes making sure the water level covers the entire jars. Remove from water bath and cool on the counter.