A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum. This legume is cooked as a vegetable in many cultures.

 

Peas have been found in near eastern archaeological sites which date back nearly 10,000 years. Domesticated cultivars appeared relatively shortly after wheat and barley, which appear to have been cultivated as long ago as 7800 B.C. By 2000 B.C., pea cultivation had spread throughout Europe and east into India and China.

 

In the United Kingdom, dried, rehydrated and mashed 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.

 

These type of peas are the most difficult peas to grow, partly because the best quality varieties have traditional plant characteristics and therefore need special care during the harvesting and drying . They are produced by specialist growers who give the crop the necessary management, care and attention. The same type of peas are used for packet sales and for canning as processed peas.

 

 

As public concern about genetically modified food grows shoppers are voting with their trolleys and boycotting products containing ingredients suspected of being implicated in this latest food scare. But consumers need to be aware that most prepared or convenience foods contain some suspect ingredients. Peas and beans from approved farms have a long track record as a reliable source of protein for human consumption so provide a real alternative to imported soya.

 

Demand for mushy peas from the fish-and-chip shop trade remains strong as the delights of this northern delicacy filter south. The taste for mushy peas has also been acquired by the Japanese. UK peas are being exported to Japan for a range of human consumption uses. They are popular as a deep fried `bar-snack` nibble, when coated with sugar they provide a traditional delicacy, and when pea flour is extruded green crisps are produced. Some extruded products are even shaped like mangetout.

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