Vegetable
Pisum sativum
S tier
Pisum sativum var. saccharatum covers snow peas—flat edible pods picked before seeds bulk, with crisp texture and sweet green flavour. Thinner walls than sugar snaps; strings on some older types need pulling. Essential in stir-fries and Asian cuisine. Flash-cook to keep bright green snap; raw in salads when young. Species links snow peas to garden peas. Harvest flat daily in season.
Track this ingredient
Unit
Characteristics
Preparations
Blanch ShockFlash Stir FryRaw SaladSesame TossTempura
Traits
CrispFlat PodFlat Thin WallSpecies Edible PodSpecies UmbrellaStir Fry EssentialSweet CrispSweet Green
History
TR
Peas were domesticated in the Near East; edible-pod types diversified later.
CN
Chinese cuisine made flat snow peas a stir-fry staple.
US
Snow peas entered mainstream Western produce beyond Chinese markets.
Bagged snow peas became a supermarket convenience vegetable.