RECIPE: How to Harvest, Store & Cook Fresh Peas for Maximum Sweetness

PEAS!  

The U-Pick peas have been available for about 3 weeks now and I've been learning how to cook them.  

How to Harvest, Store & Cook Fresh Peas for Maximum Sweetness

1. Harvest early in the day or late in the day for maximum sweetness

2. Blanch as soon as possible after harvest to preserve the sweetness

3. Use the pods to increase pea-flavor in the finished dish! 

Many years ago, when we first joined the farm, I was out picking peas early on the first day we were allowed.  They were JUST starting to ripen and many of the pods I harvested were a little under developed with small peas inside.  I didn't care!  I raced home with my treasures, shelled them, and cooked them right away.  They were the sweetest peas I'd ever eaten!!

A few days later, I harvested a big bagful.  The peas were more ripe now and there were very few small ones.  I left them on the counter overnight, shelled them the next morning, and then left them on the counter until dinnertime.  I cooked them right before serving them, and I was disappointed that they were much less sweet than the one's we'd enjoyed a few days earlier.  I THOUGHT it was because the peas were more mature, and much bigger.

Now...I know better!  During the day, peas convert sunshine into sugar.  Overnight, they convert that sugar into starch, but if the nights are cool and they aren't respiring much there will be lots of sugar left over in the morning.  So... if you harvest them late in the day, they will be very sweet; and if you harvest them early in the day, they will also be very sweet, regardless of how big or small the peas are.  

HOWEVER...once they are harvested, they will start converting their sugar into starch, so if you leave them on the counter they will lose all their sweetness.  They need to be shelled and blanched as soon as possible after harvest to preserve the sugar.  If you can't shall and blanch them immediately, KEEP THEM COOL until you can!

I was planning to conduct an experiment last Friday: I would harvest some peas in the morning and blanch them.  I would return in the evening, harvest again, and blanch them.  Then I would compare the sweetness in each batch and report back. But...when I checked the plants on Thursday they were already all brown and there were no peas to harvest, so my experiment will have to wait until next spring, unless I can convince my husband to plant a fall crop....

Another thing I learned is that you can extract flavor from the pods, so don't throw them away!  

I blanched the pods briefly, removed half the blanching water and condensed it to create a pea essence.  The remaining blanching water was used to cook pasta which I then mixed with peas, the pea essence, and a little cream to make an amazing pea-forward entree.  The recipe is here. 

Jacques Pepin cooks the pods in stock for 30 minutes, then passes them through a food mill to remove all the fiber. He combines them with potatoes and cream to make a filling soup.  I will test Jacques recipe next - without the potatoes - and see whether I'll be able to use portions of his technique.