PEA

The pea is one of our most valuable and, when ripe, one of our most nutritious vegetables. Those cultivated for table use are grouped in two main cla es—‘‘ edible podded”’ and ‘‘tough-podded,’’ or shelling. Tough-podded peas may be divided into two chief types, those with smooth seeds and those with wrinkled—the former being the more attractive to the eye; the latter generally the sweeter and therefore the more desirable. HEdible-podded peas are little cultivated here, but in Europe large quantities are grown for use in the same way as string-beans. Green peas can be enjoyed at their best only if eaten within a very few hours after gathering. First-cla canned peas—pa ed from the vine to the can in an almost incredibly short time—are preferred for flavor and delicacy to ‘‘fresh peas’’ that have been days in transit and storage—even though both transit and storage have been ameliorated by the most modern cooling or refrigerating systems. The cowpea, or ‘‘field pea’’ of the South, belongs to the bean family (see Bs..x). Peas should always be kept in a dry, cool place. Canned Green Peas. Green peas are extensively canned both in this country and Europe. Careful sorting and separating precede the putting up of the better grades. The genera] formula calls for equal quantities of brine and green peas in each can, with sometimes the addition of sugar, the sealed cans being cooked and sterilized in similar manner to other canned vegetables. The domestic output is graded as are the youngest and most succulent; ‘‘substandard’’ are over-developed though not fully ripened. The wrinkled varieties are generally known as ‘‘sugar’’ or ‘sweet’? peas. (To avoid confusion it is well to note that in English horticultural descriptions the title ‘‘sugar peas’’ is specifically applied to the edible-podded type.) The old terms for size—from ‘‘petits pois’’ for the smallest to ‘‘telephone’’ for the largest—have been superseded by the numbers one to six. The most expensive grades are those imported from France. The smallest and - choicest are the sur extra fine. French peas are also prepared in a number of special forms—the most important of which is petits pois au beurre, ‘‘small (or new) peas in butter.”’ Evaporated Green and Ripe Peas. During the last few years the market has taken an increasing quantity of evaporated green peas, both whole and split, domestic and imported. They are sold at much lower prices than the canned goods and they make a very pleasing dish. The peas after hulling are steamed, then slowly dried in the evaporator by a current of warm air not above 162° Fahr., and finally screened and graded by size. The smallest bring the highest prices, being both the most easily cooked and-the most savory. There is also a fair consumption of the ripe pea (whole and split) but it merits much wider appreciation. Its food value is high, and the whole kind lends itself admirably to germination (see Germinatep Sreps). In Europe, it is as largely consumed as the dried bean. When preparing dried or evaporated peas for the table, they should be soaked in cold water for eight or ten hours, during which they will résume their normal size and moisture. The subsequent boiling should be long and slow to make them easily digestible, but they are well worth the trouble. Pea, or pease, soup is especially agreeable to the palate if a little meat—as fresh beef or ham or salt.pork—is boiled in it. Whole ripe peas, fried in peanut or other oil, are eaten by Chinese youngsters with the same relish as roasted peanuts.