The time is finally upon us. All manner of recipes, restaurant dishes, and produce aisles have begun featuring that most blessed among modifiers: “spring.” And anywhere vernally-identified items are found, chief among them are peas.
Peas or pea pods come from vining or low-growing plants from the legume family that actually prefer cool weather and reach maturity relatively quickly, hence their popularity on spring menus after the produce drought that is winter. Hence also their ubiquity in cool, damp places such as England, after which a particular variety of peas takes its name. The peas themselves are actually the seed of the plant, for which the pod that contains them is technically the fruit. The relationship between the pods and the peas themselves, and their relative digestibility, is the crux of the difference between English peas, snow peas, and snap peas.
English peas, garden peas, or sweet peas generally refer to the same thing and are the spherical variety often found frozen that many of us grew up chasing around our dinner plates. They grow in pods that are too fibrous to ingest, thus they are shelled and the pods discarded. The peas are starchy and sweet and just about as versatile as produce can get. Enjoy them raw or cooked, in everything from salads, to quiches, to pastas. Utilize them whole, or puree them for baby food, soups, sauces, or dips.
Snow peas are an edible-podded variety that appear flat and almost translucent. Technically, the pods are unripe, and the visible peas within the pod are clearly immature and not yet spherical. The pods themselves don’t contain any non-digestible fiber, and therefore are consumed in their entirety. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet, though more vegetal and bright in character than English peas. Enjoy them just as they come for a healthy snack, chopped in a fresh salad, or in their most common and highly tasty application, a savory Chinese stir-fry.
Snap peas, or sugar snap peas, are evidence that it is genetically possible to get the best traits out of both parents. They exist as the result of crossing a shelled pea variety with snow peas. The pods are rounder than snow peas and more closely resemble the pods of English peas, but are fully edible, with a medium-sweet flavor. Enjoy them as you would snow peas, though they are especially delightful in their purest state.
Dream of spring menus with any of the following recipes showcasing the more virtuosic presentations of peas:
Butterhead Lettuce with Spring Radishes and Peas
Chowhound
Beautifully featuring both English and snow pea varieties together. Friendship! Get our Butterhead Lettuce with Spring Radishes and Peas recipe.
Snap Pea Chopped Salad with Thai Vinaigrette
Chowhound
A friendly reminder that peas need not be limited to marrying only mint and dill. Get our Snap Pea Chopped Salad with Thai Vinaigrette recipe.
Pea Custard Salad
Chowhound
Serve this gorgeous savory custard at your next spring garden party and observe the hush that befalls the crowd. Get our Pea Custard Salad recipe.
Spicy Snow Pea and Sesame Stir Fry
Chowhound
You’re not afraid of tofu. Peas aren’t afraid of tofu. Let’s do this. Get our Spicy Snow Pea and Sesame Stir Fry recipe.
Pea Risotto
Chowhound
Actually, maybe it is easy being green… Get our Pea Risotto recipe.
Pesto and Pea Lasagna
Chowhound
Because when I said pasta I wasn’t only talking about throwing a handful in a carbonara. (Though that’s a fine idea also.) Get our Pesto and Pea Lasagna recipe.
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