Pea is a frost-hardy, cool-season vegetable that can be grown throughout most of the United States, wherever a cool season of sufficient duration exists. For gardening purposes, peas may be classified as garden peas (English peas), snap peas and snow peas (sugar peas). Garden pea varieties have smooth or wrinkled seeds.
The smooth-seeded varieties tend to have more starch than the wrinkled-seeded varieties. The wrinkled-seeded varieties are generally sweeter and usually preferred for home use. The smooth-seeded types are used more often to produce ripe seeds that are used like dry beans and to make split-pea soup. Snap peas have been developed from garden peas to have low-fiber pods that can be snapped and eaten along with the immature peas inside. Snow peas are meant to be harvested as flat, tender pods before the peas inside develop at all. The Southern pea (cowpea) is an entirely different warm-season vegetable that is planted and grown in the same manner as beans
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Basic Instruction
Oriental Green Peas and the possible benefit of this winter crop...
Green peas Description: Taxonomy, Morphology and Floral Biology:
Nature packages green peas in several different forms all of which have a vibrantly delicious flavor, wonderful texture and a wealth of health promoting nutrients. Garden peas are generally available from spring through the beginning of winter.
Legumes are plants that bear fruit in the form of pods enclosing the fleshy seeds we know as beans. Peas are one of the few members of the legume family that are sold and cooked as fresh vegetables. However, only about 5% of the peas grown are sold fresh; the rest are either frozen or canned. Frozen peas are preferable to canned peas as they retain their flavor and have lower sodium content.
When most people think of peas, they remember them as the food that they loved to hate when they were children, yet one that was extremely fun to play with on their plates. Yet, many of these same people, since they have become adults, have a renewed appreciation for this vibrant and delicious legume due to its wonderful taste and texture. There are generally three types of peas that are commonly eaten: garden or green peas, snow peas and snap peas.
Garden peas have rounded pods that are usually slightly curved in shape with a smooth texture and vibrant green color. Inside of them are green rounded pea seeds that are sweet and starchy in taste. Snow peas are flatter than garden peas, and since they are not fully opaque, you can usually see the shadows of the flat peas seeds within. Snap peas, a cross between the garden and snow pea, have plump pods with a crisp, snappy texture. The pods of both snow peas and snap peas are edible, and both feature a slightly sweeter and cooler taste than the garden pea. Garden peas are scientifically known as Pisum sativum.
Duke (1981) reported that garden peas are treated as P. sativum ssp. hortense Asch. & Graebn., field peas as P. sativum ssp. arvense (L.) Poir., and edible podded peas as P. sativum ssp. macrocarpon; early dwarf pea as P. sativum var humile. Later, Smart (1990), based on studies undertaken by Ben-Ze¨ªev and Zohary (1973), and Polhill and van der Maesen et al., (1985) reported that pea comprises only two species, viz; Pisum sativum and P. fulvum Sibeth. & Smith. "It is a self pollinated annual herb, bushy or climbing, glabrous, usually glaucous; stems weak, round, and slender, 30-150 cm long; leaves alternate, pinnate with 1-3 pairs of leaflets and a terminal branched tendril leaflets ovate or elliptic, 1.5-6 cm long" (Duke, 1981). The leaf type could be conventional, semi-leafless and leafless (Davies et al., 1985). Leaf size in most cases increases up to the first node bearing the first flower. Stipules are large, leaflike and up to 10 cm long. The inflorescence of pea is a raceme arising from the axil of the leaf. Corolla white, or pink, or purple; pods swollen or compressed, short-stalked, straight or curved, 4-15 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, 2-10 seeded, 2-valved, dehiscent on both sutures (Gritton, 1980; Duke, 1981). The node at which the first flower emerges is characteristic of a given variety; in temperate regions the number of nodes at which the first flower emerges is reported to vary from 4 in the earliest to about 25 in late maturing types under field conditions (Gritton, 1980). Flowers borne on the same peduncle produce pods that mature at different times, the youngest being at the tip. On a whole plant basis, flowering is sequential and upwards from node to node. Seeds are globose or angled, smooth or wrinkled, exalbuminous, whitish, gray, green, or brownish; 100 seeds can weigh from 10 to 36 grams; germination cryptocotylar
History and Origin of Green peas:
Origin:Pea probably originated in southwestern Asia, possibly northwestern India, Pakistan or adjacent areas of former USSR and Afghanistan and thereafter spread to the temperate zones of Europe (Kay, 1979; Makasheva, 1983). Based on genetic diversity, four centers of origins, namely, Central Asia, the Near East, Abyssinia and the Mediterranean have been recognized (Gritton, 1980). Non-pigmented peas to be used as a vegetable were grown in United Kingdom in the middle Ages (Davies et al., 1985). Pea was introduced into the Americas soon after Columbus and a winter type pea was introduced from Austria in 1922. Pea was taken to China in the first century (Makasheva, 1983). Peas were reported to be originally cultivated as a winter annual crop in the Mediterranean region (Smart, 1990).
The modern-day garden pea is thought to have originated from the field pea that was native to central Asia and Europe and has been consumed by man for thousands and thousands of years. In fact, peas are mentioned in the Bible and were prized by the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Yet, it was not until the 16th century, when cultivation techniques created more tender varieties, that people began to consume peas in their fresh state as opposed to just eating dried peas. It seems that the Chinese, a culture which had consumed this legume as far back as 2,000 BC, were the first ones to consume both the seeds and the pods as a vegetable.
The French king Louis XIV popularized peas in the 17th century by making them an item of high regard on the menus of parties held at his palace. Snow peas are suggested to have been developed in Holland around this same time. Peas were introduced into United States soon after the colonists first settled in this country.
In the 19th century during the early developments of the study of genetics, peas played an important role. The monk and botanist, Gregor Mendel used peas in his plant-breeding experiments.
It was only recently, in the 1970s, that sugar snap peas were developed, the result of a cross between garden peas and snow peas. Today, the largest commercial producers of fresh peas are the United States, Great Britain, China, Hungary and India.
Chemistry of Green peas:Phytochemical and constituents, Nutrients and Facts:
The protein concentration of peas range from 15.5-39.7% (Davies et al., 1985; Bressani and Elias, 1988). "Fresh green peas contain per 100 g: 44 calories, 75.6% water, 6.2 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 16.9 g carbohydrate, 2.4 g crude fiber, 0.9 g ash, 32 mg Ca, 102 mg P, 1.2 mg Fe, 6 mg Na, 350 mg K, 405 ug b -carotene equivalent, 0.28 mg thiamine, 0.11 mg riboflavin, 2.8 mg niacin, and 27 mg ascorbic acid, while dried peas contain: 10.9% water, 22.9% protein, 1.4% fat, 60.7% carbohydrate, 1.4% crude fiber, and 2.7% ash" (Duke, 1981; Hulse, 1994). "Flour contains: 343 calories, 10.9% moisture, 22.8 g protein, 1.2 g fat, 62.3 g total carbohydrate, 4.2 g fiber, 2.8 g ash, 72 mg Ca, 338 mg P, 11.3 mg Fe, 0.86 mg thiamine, 0.18 mg riboflavin, and 2.8 mg niacin" (Duke, 1981). An average amino acid composition, reported in terms of grams per 100 grams of protein: 6.9-8.2 lysine, 1.4-2.7 methionine+cystine, 3.9 threonine, 0.9 tryptophan, 0.8-1.7 cystine (Huisman and van der Poel, 1994; Bressani and Elias, 1988). Methionine and cystine are the main limiting amino acids. The largest chemical component in peas as in other legumes is carbohydrate (CHO) which constitute about 56.6% of seed weight (Bressani and Elias, 1988). The most abundant pea carbohydrate is starch, 36.9-48.6%, while amylose is about 34% of seed weight in peas (Bressani and Elias, 1988). "Nutrient composition of milled and polished peas as measured per 100 grams of edible portion of dried matured whole seeds are 1.4 g oil, 6 g crude fiber, 16.7 g dietary fiber, 54.1% starch, 8.1% sugars, 4.4 mg iron, 0.77 mg thiamin, 0.18 mg riboflavin, 3.1 mg niacin and 330 kcal energy" (Newman et al., 1988). Fertilizing peas with sulfur has increased their methionine content from 1.3 to 2.2 g per 100 g protein. "Pea hay (at 88.6% DM) contains (zero moisture basis): 10.7-21.6% crude protein, 1.5-3.7% fat, 16.8-36.1% crude fiber, 6.0-9.3% ash, and 41.9-50.6% N-free extract" (Duke, 1981).
Nutritional Profile
Green Peas-Boiled 1.00 cup 134.40 calories
Nutrient
Amount
DV (%)
Nutrient Density
World's Healthiest Foods Rating
vitamin K
36.80 mcg
46.0
6.2
very good
manganese
0.84 mg
42.0
5.6
very good
vitamin C
22.72 mg
37.9
5.1
very good
dietary fiber
8.80 g
35.2
4.7
very good
vitamin B1 (thiamin)
0.41 mg
27.3
3.7
very good
folate
101.28 mcg
25.3
3.4
very good
vitamin A
955.20 IU
19.1
2.6
good
tryptophan
0.06 g
18.8
2.5
good
phosphorus
187.20 mg
18.7
2.5
good
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
0.35 mg
17.5
2.3
good
protein
8.58 g
17.2
2.3
good
vitamin B3 (niacin)
3.23 mg
16.1
2.2
good
magnesium
62.40 mg
15.6
2.1
good
vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
0.24 mg
14.1
1.9
good
copper
0.28 mg
14.0
1.9
good
iron
2.46 mg
13.7
1.8
good
zinc
1.90 mg
12.7
1.7
good
potassium
433.60 mg
12.4
1.7
good
World's Healthiest Foods Rating
Rule
excellent
DV>=75%
OR
Density>=7.6
AND
DV>=10%
very good
DV>=50%
OR
Density>=3.4
AND
DV>=5%
good
DV>=25%
OR
Density>=1.5
AND
DV>=2.5%
Uses and Traditional Medicinal Uses of Green peas:
Peas are cultivated for the fresh green seeds, tender green pods, dried seeds and foliage (Duke, 1981). Green peas are eaten cooked as a vegetable, and are marketed fresh, canned, or frozen while ripe dried peas are used whole, split, or made into flour (Davies et al., 1985).
In some parts of the world, dried peas are consumed split as dahl, roasted, parched or boiled. "Green peas are the number one processed vegetable specifically in UK and USA. Green foliage of garden pea is also used as vegetable in parts of Asia and Africa. Leaves are used as a pot herb in Burma and parts of Africa" (Kay, 1979).
Some cultivars are grown for their tender green pods, which are eaten cooked or raw. "Oil from ripened seed has antisex hormonic effects; produces sterility and antagonizes effect of male hormone" (Duke, 1981). "Based on protein digestibility of peas in broilers, it is reported that the natural protein of peas and faba bean is almost entirely digested in the small intestine and the impaired performance in literature was attributed to an increased secretion of endogenous protein" (Huisman and Van der Poil, 1994).
Pea is being used in a growing snack market. One snack item is prepared by soaking the peas overnight and frying them in palm oil or coating them with other food items such as rice flour before frying for the purpose of imparting different flavors. Another product is prepared by finely grinding the peas and extruding them under pressure to create different shapes. The different shapes are then fried, seasoned and packaged (Jambunathan et al., 1994). "Cultivars such as 'Alaska' 'Super Alaska,' 'Supergreen,' and 'Alaska Wilt Resistant have long been the standard type of canning pea.
Wrinkled-seeded garden peas are sweeter than smooth seeded types. Marrowfat is a large flattened pea type that is popular for making snack items and are also used for reconstitution and canning in the UK. Canning peas are divided into two classes: Alaska and sweet. Of the sweet type is 'Surprise' (most important) and 'Resistant Surprise' (gaining in popularity because of its disease resistance). Some midsummer varieties are: 'Pride,' 'Early Perfection,' 'Ace,' and 'Wasatch'. Late cultivars, which ripen about 14 days after 'Alaska,' are: 'Perfection' and its various strains, as 'Dark-green Perfection,' 'Bridget,' 'Superior,' 'New Era,' ?Puget¨ª and 'Shoshone.' New cultivars, too numerous to mention, have been entered into production in the US and other countries. Canning cultivars usually have a tough skin that holds its shape during canning. For home garden use, 'Little Marvel,' 'Laxton Progress,' 'World's Record,' 'Wando' holds quality well in hot weather" (Duke, 1981).
Traditional Medicinal Uses: "Seeds are thought to cause dysentery when eaten raw. In Spain, flour is considered emollient and resolvent, applied as a cataplasm. It has been reported that seeds contain trypsin and chymotrypsin which could be used for contraceptive, ecbolic. fungistatic and spermicide"(Duke, 1981). Smart (1990) reported that there are no significant amounts of toxicity or anti-metabolites in peas.
Health Benefits of Green Peas: Green peas are bursting with nutrients. They provide good to excellent amounts of 8 vitamins, 6 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. Green peas' supercharged nutritional profile can supercharge your health.
Helping You Bone Up:
Green peas provide nutrients that are important for maintaining bone health. They are an excellent source of vitamin K1, which activates osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin anchors calcium molecules inside of the bone. Therefore, without enough vitamin K1, osteocalcin levels are inadequate and bone mineralization is impaired.
Green peas also serve as a very good source of vitamin B6 and folic acid. These two nutrients help to reduce the buildup of a metabolic byproduct called homocysteine, a dangerous molecule can obstruct collagen cross-linking, resulting in poor bone matrix and osteoporosis. One study showed that postmenopausal women who were not considered deficient in folic acid lowered their homocysteine levels simply by supplementing with folic acid by itself.
Help Your Heart by Passing the Peas:
In addition to affecting bone health, homocysteine contributes to atherosclerosis through its ability to damage the blood vessels, keeping them in a constant state of injury. Therefore the folic acid and vitamin B6 in green peas are supportive of cardiovascular health as well. In fact, folic acid is so important for cardiovascular function that a major 1995 study concluded that 400 micrograms per day of folic acid could prevent 28,000 cardiovascular deaths per year in the United States.
The contributions of green peas to heart health do not stop there. The vitamin K featured in green peas is instrumental to the body's healthy blood clotting ability.
Contributions to Energy and Overall Wellness:
Green peas are one of the important foods to include in your diet if you oftentimes feel fatigued and sluggish. That is because they provide nutrients that help support the energy-producing cells and systems of the body.
Green peas a very good source of thiamin-vitamin B1, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6 and a good source of riboflavin-vitamin B2 and niacin-vitamin B3, all of which are nutrients that are necessary for carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Pantothenic acid also plays an important role in fatigue since it supports the function of the adrenal glands, particularly in times of stress. Green peas are also a very good source of iron, a mineral necessary for normal blood cell formation and function, whose deficiency results in anemia, fatigue, decreased immune function, and learning problems. In addition, green peas are an excellent source of vitamin C, which protects many energy-producing cells and systems in the body from free radical damage. Body tissues with particularly high vitamin C requirements include the adrenal glands, ocular lens, liver, immune system, connective tissues, and fats circulating in the blood.
Peas Help Prevent Cancer: Green peas provide nutrients, including vitamin C, which are instrumental in helping to prevent the development of cancer. A high intake of vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risks for virtually all forms of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, and lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers as well as sex hormone-related cancers like breast, prostate, cervix, and ovarian cancers. Vitamin C is your body's first and most effective line of antioxidant protection. Vitamin C protects cell structures like DNA from damage; it helps the body deal with environmental pollution and toxic chemicals; it enhances immune function, and it inhibits the formation of cancer-causing compounds in the body (such as the nitrosamines, chemicals produced when the body digests processed meats containing nitrates).
Safety of Green Peas:
Green peas are not a commonly allergenic food, are not included in the list of 20 foods that most frequently contain pesticide residues, and are also not known to contain goitrogens, oxalates, or purines.
How to Select and Store:
When purchasing garden peas, look for ones whose pods are firm, velvety and smooth. Their color should be a lively medium green. Those whose green color is especially light or dark, or those that are yellow, whitish or are speckled with gray, should be avoided. Additionally, do not choose pods that are puffy, water soaked or have mildew residue. The pods should contain peas of sufficient number and size that there is not much empty room in the pod. You can tell this by gently shaking the pod and noticing whether there is a slight rattling sound. All varieties of fresh peas should be displayed in a refrigerated case since heat will hasten the conversion of their sugar content into starch.
Unlike the rounded pods of garden peas, the pods of snow peas are flat. You should be able to see the shape of the peas through the non-opaque shiny pod. Choose smaller ones as they tend to be sweeter.
To test the quality of snap peas, snap one open and see whether it is crisp. They should be bright green in color, firm and plump.
Garden peas are generally available from spring through the beginning of winter. Snow peas can usually be found throughout the year in Asian markets and from spring through the beginning of winter in supermarkets. Snap peas are more limited in their availability. They are generally available from late spring through early summer.
If you will not be using fresh peas on the day of purchase, which is the best way to enjoy them, you should refrigerate them as quickly as possible in order to preserve their sugar content, preventing it from turning into starch. Unwashed, unshelled peas stored in the refrigerator in a perforated bag or unsealed container will keep for several days. Fresh peas can also be blanched for one or two minutes and then frozen.
Tips for Preparing and Cooking Green Peas:A Few Quick Serving Ideas
Tips for Preparing and Cooking Green Peas:
Before you remove the peas from the pod, rinse them briefly under running water. To easily shell them, snap off the top and bottom of the pod and then gently pull off the thread that lines the seam of most peapods. For those that do not have threads, carefully cut through the seam, making sure not to cut into the peas. Gently open the pods to remove the seeds, which do not need to be washed since they have been encased in the pod.
The classic way of cooking garden peas is to line a saucepan with several leaves of washed, Boston or Bibb lettuce and then place the peas on the lettuce. You can then add fresh herbs and spices if you desire. Cover the peas with more lettuce leaves, add one or two tablespoons of water, and cover the pan. Cook the peas for about 15 to 20 minutes, after which they should be tender and flavorful.
Snow peas and snap peas can be eaten raw, although the cooking process will cause them to become sweeter. Either way, they should be rinsed beforehand. One of the best ways to cook these types of peas is to lightly steam them.
A Few Quick Serving Ideas:
Add some fresh peas to green salads.
Healthy saute snap peas with shiitake mushrooms.
Mix green peas with chicken, diced onions and almonds to make a delicious and colorful chicken salad.
Mix snow peas in with your favorite vegetable healthy stir-fries.
Fresh pea pods are a great food to pack in a lunch box.
Scientific References:
1.Oriental Green Peas and the possible benefit of this winter crop...
Claims & Warning:
Claims: Information this web site presented is meant for Nutritional Benefit and as an educational starting point only, for use in maintenance and promotion good health in cooperation with a common knowledge base reference...Furthermore,it based solely on the traditional and historic use or legend of a given herb from the garden of Adonis. Although every effort has been made to ensure its accurate, please note that some info may be outdated by more recent scientific developments......
Pharmakon Warning: The order of knowledge is not the transparent order of forms and ideas,as one might be tempted retrospectively to interpret it; it is the antidote....(Dissemination,Plato's Pharmacy,II.The Ingredients:Phantasms,Festivals,and Paints;138cf. Jacques Derrida.).
And as it happens,the technique of imitation,along with the production of the simulacrum,has always been in Plato's eyes manifestly magical,thaumaturgical:......and the same things appear bent and straight to those who view them in water and out,or concave and convex,owing to similar errors of vision about colors, and there is obviously every confusion of this sort in our souls.And so scene painting (skiagraphia) in its exploitation of this weakness of four nature falls nothing short of witchcraft (thaumatopoia), and so do jugglery and many other such contrivances.(Republic X,602c-d;cf.also 607c).
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Newly Developed Extracts Series:
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Serie No.:R063.Basic Data Sheet Download
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seminal trace...Green Peas,Oriental Green Peas.10:1Extract.CAS.RN.NO:90082-41-0.Synonyms:Pea Extract.Pisum sativum L.Pea, dry pea,Batani,Erbese,Ater,pois,Takarmany borso...
Basic Botanical Data of Green Peas:
Nutritional Profile
Scientific References:
Claims & Warning:
