Original Cookbook Name: Big Mama’s Old Black Pot
Published By: Stoke Gabriel Enterprises, Inc.
Year of Publication: 1987
Page Number: 48
Author / Contributor: Ethel Dixon (recipes & illustrations)
Heritage & Cultural Context
Pickled okra is a beloved Southern staple, often served alongside soul food classics or offered at gatherings as a crisp, tangy snack. This recipe from Big Mama’s Old Black Pot reflects the preservation traditions passed down through generations in Black Southern kitchens. Pickling was more than a method of food storage—it was an act of stewardship, ensuring harvests lasted beyond the growing season. In Louisiana, where this cookbook was compiled, okra’s presence also speaks to its West African roots, tracing back to ancestral stews and soups. This recipe carries the memory of jar-lined pantries, shared labor, and flavors that brought families together.
Ingredients (As Written in the Book)
- 6 pounds okra
- 12 cloves garlic
- 12 pods hot pepper
- 12 teaspoons celery seed
- 12 teaspoons dill seed
- 1 cup salt (not iodized)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 quarts water
- 2 quarts vinegar (white)
Instructions
Original Instructions:
Wash okra and pack in 12 sterilized pint jars. Put equal amounts of garlic, hot pepper, celery seed, and dill seed in jars. Combine sugar, salt, water and vinegar in pot and bring to boil. Pour liquid into jars. Cap jars and cover with hot water for ten minutes.
Makes 12 pints
Editor’s Note (Optional Modern Guidance):
To ensure safety in modern canning, consider using a hot water bath canner. After sealing jars, process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let jars cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours before storing.
Cultural or Historical Insight
Okra’s journey from West Africa to Southern gardens highlights the ingenuity and resilience of Black farmers and cooks in the American South. Often cultivated in small home plots, okra was both a practical and cultural staple—used fresh in gumbo or stewed, and pickled to last through winter. This recipe exemplifies rural foodways rooted in resourcefulness and heritage, blending heat, sourness, and spice in a way that turns preservation into culinary celebration.
Visual Reference
- ALT Text: Scanned page from the 1987 cookbook Big Mama’s Old Black Pot showing a traditional Southern recipe for pickled okra, surrounded by planting advice and hand-drawn illustrations.
- Cover Image ALT Text: Front cover of Big Mama’s Old Black Pot, featuring a painted image of a woman cooking on a wood-burning stove with vintage kitchen tools.
