Instructions: Sterilize 6 pint canning jars and new canning lids in boiling water. Remove from hot water and let them air-dry. (Dont touch the insides of the jars after you have sterilized them.)

Wash the okra under cold running water, rubbing it gently to remove the fuzz. Trim off most of the stems but leave the tops of the pods intact. Using clean tongs, pack the okra pods into the jars, first stem down, then stem up, so that they mesh with one another. Add 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig of dill (or teaspoon of dill seeds), 2 pepper pods, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed and 8 peppercorns to each jar.

Combine vinegar, water and salt in a stainless pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Divide the pickling brine among the jars, leaving a full 1/2-inch of headroom at the top of each jar. Discard any leftover vinegar-water solution. Dont overfill the jars.

Seal the jars with the lids and rings and process them, completely covered, in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Remove with tongs and set the jars, not touching, on folded kitchen towels. Cool completely.

Store for 6 to 8 weeks to allow the pickles to mature before using them. Store any jars that do not seal in the refrigerator and use within 2 months.

This recipe yields 6 pints.

Yield: 6 pints

NOTES : This regional favorite is from the late Bill Neal, who ran the restaurant Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill and was reprinted in "Beans, Greens and Sweet Georgia Peaches," by Damon Lee Fowler (Broadway, 1998), and published in the Charlotte Observer, 05-30-2000

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.