Legume
Pea
Pea is both a fresh green vegetable and a dried pulse. Garden peas are sweet when young; marrowfats and dried green or yellow split peas cook into soups, pease pudding, and dal-style dishes. Snow and sugar snap types are eaten pod-and-all as vegetables. Dried whole and split peas are pantry staples; frozen sweet peas preserve peak sweetness year-round.
Also known as: Petit pois, Matar / Dried vatana, Erwt
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History
Peas were domesticated in the Near East among the earliest pulse and vegetable crops.
Dried peas sustained European and Mediterranean winter diets as pease pottage staples.
Garden pea breeding and later canning and freezing made green peas a year-round vegetable.
Frozen peas became one of the first successful industrial frozen vegetables.