This article is about one 2 peas in a pod of plant and its variations. This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Peas are contained within a pod. The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow.
Peas are annual plants, with a life cycle of one year. The average pea weighs between 0. A pea is a most commonly green, occasionally golden yellow, or infrequently purple pod-shaped vegetable, widely grown as a cool-season vegetable crop. Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Peas have both low-growing and vining cultivars. Pea in a painting by Mateusz Tokarski, ca.
The wild pea is restricted to the Mediterranean Basin and the Near East. The earliest archaeological finds of peas date from the late Neolithic era of current Greece, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Iraq and Jordan. In Egypt, early finds date from c. 4400 BC in the Nile delta area, and from c. In early times, peas were grown mostly for their dry seeds. From plants growing wild in the Mediterranean Basin, constant selection since the Neolithic dawn of agriculture improved their yield.
In the Middle Ages, field peas are constantly mentioned, as they were the staple that kept famine at bay, as Charles the Good, count of Flanders, noted explicitly in 1124. Green “garden” peas, eaten immature and fresh, were an innovative luxury of Early Modern Europe. In England, the distinction between field peas and garden peas dates from the early 17th century: John Gerard and John Parkinson both mention garden peas. Modern split peas, with their indigestible skins rubbed off, are a development of the later 19th century. You can help by adding to it. In modern times peas are usually boiled or steamed, which breaks down the cell walls and makes the taste sweeter and the nutrients more bioavailable. Salt and pepper are also commonly added to peas when served.
Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles. Peas are also eaten raw, as they are sweet when fresh off the bush. Dried peas are often made into a soup or simply eaten on their own. Pea soup is eaten in many other parts of the world, including northern Europe, parts of middle Europe, Russia, Iran, Iraq and India. Much like picking the leaves for tea, the farmers pick the tips off of the pea plant. In Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, Cyprus, and other parts of the Mediterranean, peas are made into a stew with lamb and potatoes. In Hungary and Serbia, pea soup is often served with dumplings and spiced with hot paprika.
Cooked peas are sometimes sold dried and coated with wasabi, salt, or other spices. In North America pea milk is produced and sold as an alternative to cow milk for a variety of reasons. But now, when the plant can be easily grown, fresh pea shoots are available in supermarkets, and some people decided to grow them in their backyard. In order to freeze and preserve peas, they must first be grown, picked, and shelled. Usually, the more tender the peas are, the more likely that they will be used in the final product. The peas must be put through the process of freezing shortly after being picked so that they do not spoil too soon. Once the peas have been selected, they are placed in ice water and allowed to cool.
After, they are sprayed with water to remove any residual dirt or dust that may remain on them. Pea grading involves sorting peas by size, in which the smallest peas are graded as the highest quality for their tenderness. Brines may be used, in which peas are floated, from which their density can be determined. Woman picking peas in Mount Kenya Region of Kenya. Some of the most common varieties are listed here. Snow peas have flat pods with thin pod walls.
Pods and seeds are eaten when they are very young. Snap peas or sugar snap peas have rounded pods with thick pod walls. Pods and seeds are eaten before maturity. The name “sugar pea” includes both types, and therefore it can be synonymous with either snow peas or snap peas in different dictionaries. Snow peas and snap peas both belong to Macrocarpon Group, a cultivar group based on the variety Pisum sativum var. The scientific name Pisum sativum var. The variety under this name was described as having sub-leathery and compressed-terete pods and a French name of petit pois.