Save it for seed. Myself, I don't think pickling will improve it any, but let's see what everyone else says.

I think it depends upon the degree of woodiness or toughness.

Some people will only eat Clemson Spineless fresh for example, if it is picked at 2 1/2 to 4", but are perfectly happy eating it pickled even if it has gotten 6 to 7" long. However, all my recipes pretty much specify "small, fresh" okra for pickling, so I don't know if it is worth the effort to try to pickle overly large, woody pods.

If you are growing one of the Cowhorn okras, they often stay tender even if overly large.

Growing conditions matter too. Okra that has gotten too long in very hot and very dry conditions can be very tough and woody, whereas okra that has gotten too long in very mild conditions often won't be nearly as tough or woody.

One ole-timey way of using overly ripe okra (from back in the day when they were careful not to waste a single thing)is to slice it into pieces (several larger pieces, but not a lot of small ones) and cook it in a soup or stew. The still soft parts will cook out into the soup or stew and add some flavor. Then you just fish out and discard the big chunks of okra before serving the soup or stew.

I tend to agree with Ilene that once it is too large, it is not very edible. You could use it to save seeds from if the seed was fully formed before you harvested it, or feed it to the pigs, or feed it to the compost pile.

Dawn

Thanks -- I don't think I'll waste my pickling stuff -- I'll compost it or feed it to the pigs --

Moni, do you have a picture of a bouquet?

Melissia

Like Dawn mentioned, you can cook it to death in a soup or stew and it will probably be okay, but not as good as if it had been properly sized. I put some over-sized okra into a gumbo I made a couple weeks ago and it was fine, but it wasn't entirely woody. It was tougher than I wanted to use for fried okra, but not so tough that I thought it was inedible. I could still cut it with a sharp knife, but not with a duller one, if that makes any sense. So I cooked it in the gumbo for an hour or so and the texture was great without any toughness.

Unless you want to save some for seed, there aren't many ways to use overdone okra that I know of.

No, but I have seen that, at the county fair, in Kay County.

I've used okra pods in fall arrangements before, but don't have photos. I like to use the red ones (from Hill Country Red or Burgundy Red or one of the other reds) although they do fade as they dry.

I'll find and link a photo of one....you can find anything via a google search.

OK, check out the link. It shows some interesting use for dried okra pods, including painting them and turning them into folk art type Santa Claus ornaments. Now, why didn't one of us come up with that idea?

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Dried Okra Pods

Out in the sticks, in at least some parts of the sierra of Eastern Mexico they let okra ripen until the seed is dry. Then they toast and grind it for making "coffee." In fact the name used for okra, there, is Café Castilla. Maybe by now they've figured it out, since there are so many Mexicans who live and work in the USA and then return to Mexico, but back in the 90s they didn't know to eat the stuff when it was tender. It grew wild in the bush too! One of our Mexican friends, after long exposure to Americans, asked his mom to fix him some fried okra. This really frightened her, as she was afraid it might hurt him!

George

George,

That is too funny about the mom.

I'm not surprised that they ground up the seeds as coffee, though, as pioneers also ground up and used all kinds of stuff as a coffee susbstitutes also.

Dawn

Would it give you any type of "caffeine" effect? I understand making Coffee out of anything you could, if coffee isn't available. My experience however, is that I NEED my coffee in order to wake up and think straight. Just curious I suppose, as to whether or not Okra Seeds have any medicinal affect?

"Caffeine is an alkaloid occurring naturally in some 60 plant species, of which cocoa beans, kola nuts, tea leaves and coffee beans are the most well-known. Other natural sources of caffeine include yerba maté, guarana berries, guayusa, and the yaupon holly." From this link. I believe yaupon holly will grow here. Google failed me here, I could not bring up the full list of 60 plants. Chicory and dandelion roots are caffine free. I found an article that orange blossom nector contained caffine because it brings bees back to it. This somewhat obnoxiously formatted site says okra DOES have caffine, though okra coffee ends up with less caffine, but more nutrients than regular coffee. It has photos and describes the process of making okra coffee. (Edited: this link may take you to the end of the presentation rather than the beginning? I don't like the format.)

I never thought of okra as a high nutrition vegetable. I don't know how the various forms of cooking effect nutrition, but its pretty impressive. Link about okra nutrition.

Okra is good for adding flavor to foods, whether it's tough or not. You don't have to eat it. It's good for adding flavor to beans and greens.