Many of the old "pioneer" recipes used vinegars which were stronger than the 5% in common use today, so they called for higher proportions of water.

However, with today's 5% vinegar that recipe does not meet current standards for guaranteed safety, being 2:1 water to vinegar.

The processing is pasteurization and that compounds the problem.

Of course, everyone decides for themselves the level of risk they are comfortable with. It's a matter of the odds. Statistically, your experience over 20 years is still too small a sample to conclude the recipe is safe. It only means that so far you've been lucky.

Carol

Sorry, it is not a safe recipe to use. Not enough vinegar and it needs to be processed in a boiling water bath canner with boiling water, not 180 degrees.

Here is a Dilled Pickled Okra recipe from NCHFP. It is a safe recipe. The seasonings are similar to your recipe, but the ratio of vinegar to water is a lot higher.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP Pickled Okra

They loose their crispness when boiled. This recipe keeps them crisp and has an excellent flavor. More vinegar would be too strong to me. I'll keep on making them and just quit giving the recipe to others! :)

If you get botulism you won't keep making it. Seriously, this can lead to botulism. We are not talking about just mold. The okra is low acid, and the only way it is safe is to add enough vinegar to be able to make it safe. Then, improper processing ? I guess you like to live dangerously. Truly, I wish you would reconsider. If it is too tart, you add sugar to offset the tartness.
It has been shown that processing will actually keep pickled foods more crisp as it will stop the enzymes that cause deterioration. If you would add Pickle Crisp to the jars and process, that would keep them crisp.

I wouldn't serve them to anyone else either. Not processed the way you're currently doing. Of course, you decide what you consume, but I'm sure you would be devastated if someone else became ill.

As Linda_Lou mentioned, pickle crisp (which is what commercial processors use to resolve the problem) will make a big difference in the final product.

Also, a boiling water bath offers heat penetration but it does not "cook" the product the way you think it would. It's not the same as boiling something in a pan.

Carol

If this is the same stuff I'll pass!

calcium chloride (CaCl2),
a granular white chemical with an unpleasant taste. It is used in a concentrated solution of the chloride salt of calcium to replenish calcium in the blood and also has uses in cardiac resuscitation.
indications It is prescribed for the treatment of hypocalcemic tetany and as an antidote for lead or magnesium poisoning or magnesium sulfate overdose.
contraindications Renal insufficiency, ventricular fibrillation, hypercalcemia, or known hypersensitivity to this drug prohibits its use.
adverse effects Among the more serious adverse reactions is hypercalcemia.
caution Calcium chloride is never injected into tissue.

For heaven's sake. That's talking about calcium chloride as a concentrate, not food-grade calcium chloride used in a weak solution. I especially don't see the applicability of the prohibition against injection unless you're planning to shoot pickling solution into your veins.

Below are the FDA specs.

You can do what you like. You asked; we answered.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: FDA CFR for Calcium Chloride

I made pickled okra last year with the safe recipe posted and added pickle crisp. They were delicious and had no after taste! I planted extra okra this year so that I could make more jars and share with the parents.
I really don't know what all the fuss is about. Calcium chloride is a naturally occurring salt. If you don't like the tartness try using Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar.
If you really need to use your recipe, then do one jar at a time and make refrigerator pickles or freezer pickles. Or, try some naturally fermented pickles, using no vinegar and just salt in a crock. That way, you only have to worry about losing them to spoilage, not dying from botulism.

I made an okra refrigerator pickle which was easy and very good, but I lost the recipe. I would like to make this again. I don't want to process the pickles, just refrigerate them. Got a recipe?

Jim