Pea
A pea is the small, edible round green
bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous
vine Pisum is a genus of the family Fabaceae [i], native to southwest Asia [i] and northeast Africa [i]. ...
sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods. This
legume is cooked as a
vegetable in many cultures. Several other seeds of the family
Fabaceae, most of them round, are also called peas; this article deals with the species
Pisum sativum and its
cultivars. In the south of the United States, "pea" often refers to
cowpeas, and
Pisum sativum is distinguished by calling it green pea or garden pea. The pea plant is an
annual plant, with a
lifecycle of a year.
Encyclopedia
A
pea is the small, edible round green
bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous
vine Pisum is a genus of the family Fabaceae [i], native to southwest Asia [i] and northeast Africa [i]. ...
sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods. This
legume is cooked as a
vegetable in many cultures. Several other seeds of the family
Fabaceae, most of them round, are also called peas; this article deals with the species
Pisum sativum and its
cultivars. In the south of the United States, "pea" often refers to
cowpeas, and
Pisum sativum is distinguished by calling it green pea or garden pea. The pea plant is an
annual plant, with a
lifecycle of a year. The average pea weighs between 0.1 and 0.36 grams.
Peas are a cool-season vegetable crop. The seeds may be planted as soon as the soil temperature reaches 10 °C, with the plants growing best at temperatures of 13 °C to 18 °C. They do not thrive in the summer heat of warmer temperate and lowland tropical climates, but do grow well in cooler high altitude tropical areas. Many cultivars reach maturity about 60 days after planting. Peas grow best in slightly acid, well-drained soils.
Peas have both low-growing and
vining cultivars. The vining cultivars grow thin
tendrils from leaves that coil around any available support, and can climb to be 1-2 m high. A traditional approach to supporting climbing peas is to thrust branches pruned from
trees or other woody plants upright into the soil, providing a lattice for the peas to climb. Branches used in this fashion are called
pea brush. Metal fences, twine, or netting supported by a frame, are used for the same purpose. In dense plantings, peas give each other some measure of mutual support.
Ways of eating peas
In early times peas were grown mostly for their dry seeds. Along with
broad beans and
lentils these formed an important part of the diet of most people in Europe during the
Middle Ages . By the 1600s and 1700s it became popular to eat peas "green," that is, while they are immature and right after they are picked. This was especially true in
France and
England, where the eating of green peas was said to be "both a fashion and a madness" . New cultivars of peas were developed by the English during this time which became known as "garden peas" and "English peas." The popularity of green peas spread to
North America.
Thomas Jefferson grew more than 30 cultivars of peas on his estate . With the invention of canning and freezing of foods, green peas became available year-round, not just in spring as before.
Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavoured with
butter and/or
spearmint as a side dish vegetable. Salt is also commonly added to peas when served. Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles. Pod peas are used in stir fried dishes. Pea pods do not keep well once picked, and if not used quickly are best preserved by drying,
canning or freezing within a few hours of harvest.
Dried peas are often made into a
soup or simply eaten on their own. In Japan and other East Asian countries including
Thailand,
Taiwan and
Malaysia, the peas are roasted and salted, and eaten as
snacks. In the UK, marrowfat peas are used to make pease pudding , a traditional dish. In North America a similarly traditional dish is
split pea soup.
In
Chinese cuisine,
pea sprouts are commonly used in stir-fries and its price is relatively high due to its agreeable taste.
In the
United Kingdom, dried, rehydrated and mashed marrowfat peas, known by the public as
mushy peas, are popular, originally in the north of
England but now ubiquitously, and especially as an accompaniment to
fish and chips or meat pies, particular in chippies or fish and chip shops.
Sodium bicarbonate is sometimes added to soften the peas. In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the pea to be Britain's 7th favourite culinary vegetable.
Processed peas are mature peas which have been dried, soaked and then heat treated to prevent spoilage - in the same manner as pasteurising.
Cooked peas are sometimes sold dried and coated with
wasabi as a spicy snack.
Some forms of
etiquette requires that peas be only eaten with a
fork and not pushed onto the fork with a
knife .
Peas in science
Pioneering geneticist
Gregor Mendel studied seven traits of pea pods in teasing out
three early laws of genetics.
Etymology
According to etymologists, the term was taken from the
Latin pisum and adopted into
English as the mass noun
pease, as in pease pudding. However, by analogy with other plurals ending in
-s, speakers began construing
pease as a plural and constructing the singular form by dropping the "s", giving the term "pea". This process is known as back-formation.
The name
marrowfat pea for mature dried peas is recorded by the
OED as early as 1733. The fact that an export cultivar popular in Japan is called
Maro has led some people to assume mistakenly that the English name
marrowfat is derived from
Japanese.
See also
References and external links
- Bianchini, F. & Corbetta, F., 1976, The Complete Book of Fruits and Vegetables. New York : Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0517520338.
- European Association for Grain Legume Research . Pea. .
- Hernández Bermejo, J. E. & León, J., . Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
- Kafka, B., 2005, Vegetable Love, New York : Artisan, ISBN 9781579651688
- Muehlbauer, F. J. and Tullu, A., . Pisum sativum L. Purdue University.
- Oelke, E. A., Oplinger E. S., et al. . Dry Field Pea. University of Wisconsin.
- Oregon State University . . Green Peas, Garden Peas, Peas. .
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