Legume
Alaska
B tier
Alaska is a very early smooth-seeded pea—historically used for canning and early harvests more than ultra-sweet wrinkled gourmet types. Plants set pods fast in cool weather. Flavour is good early; not as candy-sweet as modern wrinkled garden peas at peak. Choose for short seasons and early crops. Can or freeze promptly. Smooth seeds dry differently than wrinkled types if saving seed. Traditional regions that shaped Alaska still influence how cooks finish the dish, from fat choices to whether Early Fresh is fierce or gentle.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Alaska pea became a leading early American canning and garden type.
Commercial canneries relied on Alaska-type early smooth peas.
Sweeter wrinkled cultivars reduced Alaska's fresh gourmet role.
Seed lists still offered Alaska for early and short-season gardens.