Learn English – specific way to describe over-grown, old, tough vegetables

adjectivesword-choice

One term that seems maybe suit­able is over­ripe, but this seems to be
spe­cific to fruits which when over­ripe ex­hibit dif­fer­ent changes
com­pared to those of veg­eta­bles: over­ripe fruit de­struc­ture and
de­com­pose, but the veg­eta­bles that I’m look­ing for an ad­jec­tive for
of­ten be­come tougher, woody per­haps, more dif­fi­cult to chew, etc.

So it’s not so much that they’re over­ripe be­cause these qual­i­ties may
es­sen­tially pre­vent it from even prop­erly ripen­ing.

I also like over­grown, but that usu­ally de­scribes veg­e­ta­tion that
has grown out of con­trol, so over­load­ing the mean­ing of this word seems
prob­lem­atic due to the over­lap­ping con­text.

An ad­jec­tive I usu­ally do see used for this is old, but that doesn’t
seem to re­ally cap­ture the con­cept specif­i­cally enough.

Maybe late har­vest or past due? These com­pounds do the job to
de­scribe it but seem not straight­for­ward to use in a sen­tence like
ad­jec­tives are nor­mally used.

Best Answer

picked past their prime (also) peak

  • When harvested past their prime, beets have a strong taste and a tough, pithy texture"
    (Google Books)

  • Here are some ways that you can use your frozen, past-prime fruits and vegetables.

  • Tomatoes that are past their prime can be pureed and frozen for up to 6 months.
    (Frugal Living Mom.com)

  • The Pilgrims may have eaten turnips, but why should we? Let's face it; the turnip can be a tricky vegetable. If they're even a day or two past their prime, you'll wind up dining on a veggie that tastes more like a piece of wood than an appetizing holiday side.
    (How Stuff Works.com)

  • When florets [broccoli] on the outside edge of the head are large and full, this is another helpful indicator that you’re good to go. But don’t wait too long. When they begin to turn from green to yellow, this is a sign that they’re beginning to flower, and past their peak.
    (Gardener's Path.com)

A single-word alternative could be

overmature

overmature: past the age or condition of maturity
a : beyond the stage of desirable or optimal development or productivity

  • overmature wax beans

  • The squash is very tender and should be handled with care to prevent skin cuts and bruising. Avoid purchasing any with … a dull, shriveled skin, which is a sign of overmaturity.
    (Merriam-Webster)

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