Southern Style : Popular south of the Mason-Dixon line, these seedpods are good in soups and stews. But locally they have yet to catch on in a big way.

It’s a safe bet someone in the Deep South tonight will pull out his paring knife and slice up a fresh batch of okra to complement a dinner time meal--maybe for a mouth-warming, spicy gumbo or perhaps a deep-fried appetizer.

Although a common addition to Southern cuisine, okra has yet to make major leaps into kitchens beyond the Mason-Dixon line.

A member of the hibiscus family, this mildly sweet seedpod seems to be a victim of unfamiliarity--lots of folks just don’t know what to do with it.

“It’s a matter of exposure,” said Jan DeLyser, executive vice president of the Fresh Produce Council, an industry trade group. “People in the South are very familiar with it, because they grow up eating it. But in other regions it just isn’t part of the ethnic orientation.”

And that directly affects the availability of the vegetable. Markets won’t carry what they can’t sell.

“We used to put out a small basket of it once in a while, and it would just sit there and rot,” said a produce employee for Ralphs market in Ventura. Consequently, Ventura Ralphs shoppers rarely see fresh okra. However, the chain’s Thousand Oaks market does carry it because some of its clientele purchase it regularly.

“There are some areas that can hardly keep it in stock because so much of it is purchased,” DeLyser said.

If your local grocer doesn’t carry the fresh version, check the frozen food case or even the canned goods.

Or head to the Thousand Oaks farmers’ market (Thursdays). There you’ll find fresh okra grown locally by Jon Fuji, a Thousand Oaks resident.

“We started growing it because nobody else around here was,” Fuji said.

After offering it for about a year, he has attracted a rather loyal customer base for his okra.

“It isn’t just one group of people buying it. People from all ethnic groups buy it and are using it in Southern-style recipes,” he said.

Those recipes usually are for soups and stews, such as Cajun gumbo and other Creole dishes. Besides its mild flavor, okra--with its mucilaginous juice--thickens soup and stew preparations.

In fact, this slender vegetable is shunned by some because it becomes quite slimy when cut.

“Once you slice it up,” Fuji said, “you don’t want to move it around too much, because it will get real slimy.”

Fuji prefers to eat it uncooked. “I slice it thin and add in green onions and diced tomatoes. Squeeze lemon juice over it with some soy sauce. It’s crunchy and mild tasting, somewhat sweet.”

For another quick preparation, dip it whole or sliced in a cornmeal batter, and deep-fry for a few minutes until tender.

Fuji likened formation of the okra “to some of those plants in the movie ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ ”

First a blossom--”something begins to grow out the center of the flower,” he said. “The flower petals then drop off, and you’re left with this cone-shaped thing on the stem.”

Major domestic producing areas of okra, a summertime crop, include Arkansas, Florida, Arizona and California--but not Ventura County. The plant thrives under more arid conditions.

Fuji said to look for uniformly green, firm fruit. “The older it gets, it starts to get mushy,” he said.

Although some varieties grow up to 9 inches long, most are harvested when 2 to 4 inches in length (when they are most tender and sweet).

Okra is fragile and will bruise easily. Keep it refrigerated, and you can expect a shelf life of about a week.

“I sell it for about $1.89 a pound,” Fuji said.

Cooking tip: Avoid preparing in pans made of iron, copper or brass. The metal creates a chemical reaction that turns the pods black. However, this does not have an effect on flavor.

* FYI

* The Saturday Ventura farmers’ market (Santa Clara and California streets) will not operate this weekend in order to make way for the Ventura County Fair parade.

* The recycling office of the city of Ventura will conduct a free composting workshop Saturday at the Cornucopia Community Garden in Ventura beginning at 10 a.m. Participants will learn how to turn yard clippings, leaves and food scraps into a rich, fertile soil additive. Preregistration is not required. The garden is on Telephone Road, a block east of Johnson Drive. For information, call the recycling office at 650-0884.

SERVING SUGGESTION / OKRA STEW

This recipe features flavors common with Cajun stews but is much easier to prepare.

1/2 pound Kielbasa or similar cooked sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 pound okra, ends trimmed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Dash hot pepper sauce

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Brown Kielbasa without added fat in non-stick skillet. Remove Kielbasa and reserve one tablespoon fat.

Bring one quart water to boil. Add lemon juice and okra. Cook until tender, five to six minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add onion to fat in skillet and saute until tender, about five minutes. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, okra, Kielbasa, 1/4 cup water and hot pepper sauce. Cover and cook over low heat 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Spoon hot cooked rice into two bowls and spoon Kielbasa mixture over top. Makes two servings.