"I Have Fresh Peas In The Pod!"

This was a common call of the 13th century Parisian street vendor. It's also very appropriate this month at the farm! Beginning at next week's CSA pick-up, the sugar snap peas will be making their delicate sweet presence known. How did peas wind up as porridge in the pot? Here's brief (and sometimes strange!) snapshot of the pea's long history:

Old and Broad Past: The exact origin of the first peas are unknown. There were pea seeds discovered in Spirit Cave grown by the Hoabinhian people of Thailand/Burma carbon-dated at 9750 BC. There were more found in digs in northwestern Iraq dating from 7000 to 6000 BC, and yet another variety discovered in the ancient Egyptian tombs ( I think I've yet to research a plant that hasn't been found in the Egyptian tombs!) The Bronze Age in Switzerland featured peas from 3000 BC, and in Athens in 500 BC it was common to buy hot pea soup from street vendors. Peas hit the Chinese empire by the 7th century, and the Chinese are credited with being the first to treat them as a fresh rather than dried vegetable, creating the strains now known today as the snow pea.

Peas-This Year's Little Black Dress: In 1533, Catherine de Medici of Italy married Henry II of France, bringing Italy's popular tiny fresh pea varieties with her. This began a wide-spread pea-craze throughout France. By 1695, it became very vogue for the fashionable ladies of the time to have a bedtime snack of peas.

Peas Helped the Peasants: In the 1700s, peas became perhaps the most important staple food for all but the rich. King George III's enclosure act effectively denied the poor access to lagre plots of land to grow their food. Dried peas could be purchased very inexpensively, so it was common to have a kettle-full of peas on the stove at all times, throwing in whatever vegetables could be rounded up (think "pease porridge in the pot, 9 days old").

Growing Genetics: In the mid 1800s, Austrian Scientist Gregor Mendel studied peas extensively, outlining some important genetic laws. Mendelian Genetics created the base on which modern genetics was built.

Not in Good Taste: Though the peas may taste delicious, it is rare to see them on your plate at a fancy restaurant. The kind folks looking after your manners would like to help you avoid the blunders that can occur when trying to get the buggers to stay put on your fork. While indulging in the privacy of your own home, you could always try following this little ditty collected by Edward Lear:

I Eat My Peas With Honey,
I've Done it All My Life;
It Makes The Peas Taste Funny,
But it Keeps Them on the Knife!


And here's an added bonus- you can eat them with local honey from Stagecoach Orchard Apiaries in Lehighton, now available in our farm store! If you are looking for other ideas that may not taste as funny, please click here. Happy Eating!


Sources:

Pease Porridge Hot, Pease Porridge Cold, February 2003 , article from
Vegetarians in Paradise Web Magazine by Zel and Reuben Allen

Wikipedia.org, the free encyclopedia