   #copyright

Pea

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture;
Plants

                     iPea
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:   Plantae
   Division:  Magnoliophyta
   Class:     Magnoliopsida
   Order:     Fabales
   Family:    Fabaceae
   Subfamily: Faboideae
   Tribe:     Vicieae
   Genus:     Pisum
   Species:   P. sativum

                                Binomial name

   Pisum sativum
   L.

   A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the
   leguminous vine Pisum sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods.
   This legume is cooked as a vegetable in many cultures. Several other
   seeds of the family Fabaceae, most of them round, are also called peas;
   this article deals with the species Pisum sativum and its cultivars.
   The pea plant is an annual plant, with a lifecycle of a year. The
   average pea weighs between 0.1 and 0.36 grams .

   Peas are a cool-season vegetable crop. The seeds may be planted as soon
   as the soil temperature reaches 10 °C, with the plants growing best at
   temperatures of 13 °C to 18 °C. They do not thrive in the summer heat
   of warmer temperate and lowland tropical climates, but do grow well in
   cooler high altitude tropical areas. Many cultivars reach maturity
   about 60 days after planting. Peas grow best in slightly acid,
   well-drained soils.

   Peas have both low-growing and vining cultivars. The vining cultivars
   grow thin tendrils from leaves that coil around any available support,
   and can climb to be 1-2 m high. A traditional approach to supporting
   climbing peas is to thrust branches pruned from trees or other woody
   plants upright into the soil, providing a lattice for the peas to
   climb. Branches used in this fashion are called pea brush. Metal
   fences, twine, or netting supported by a frame, are used for the same
   purpose. In dense plantings, peas give each other some measure of
   mutual support.

Ways of eating peas

   In early times peas were grown mostly for their dry seeds. Along with
   broad beans and lentils these formed an important part of the diet of
   most people in Europe during the Middle Ages (Bianchini 1975 p 40). By
   the 1600s and 1700s it became popular to eat peas "green," that is,
   while they are immature and right after they are picked. This was
   especially true in France and England, where the eating of green peas
   was said to be "both a fashion and a madness" (OSU 2006). New cultivars
   of peas were developed by the English during this time which became
   known as "garden peas" and "English peas." The popularity of green peas
   spread to North America. Thomas Jefferson grew more than 30 cultivars
   of peas on his estate (Kafka 2005 p 297). With the invention of canning
   and freezing of foods, green peas became available year-round, not just
   in spring as before.
   Frosted green peas
   Enlarge
   Frosted green peas
        Peas (fresh, green)
   Nutritional value per 100 g
      Energy 80 kcal   340 kJ

   Carbohydrates           14.5 g
   - Sugars  5.7 g
   - Dietary fibre  5.1 g
   Fat                     0.4 g
   Protein                 5.4 g
   Vitamin C  40 mg        67%
   Percentages are relative to US
   recommendations for adults.
   Source: USDA Nutrient database

   Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavoured with butter and/or
   spearmint as a side dish vegetable. Salt is also commonly added to peas
   when served. Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and
   casseroles. Pod peas (particularly sweet cultivars called mangetout and
   sugar peas) are used in stir fried dishes. Pea pods do not keep well
   once picked, and if not used quickly are best preserved by drying,
   canning or freezing within a few hours of harvest.
   Dry, yellow peas
   Enlarge
   Dry, yellow peas
   Fresh green peas
   Enlarge
   Fresh green peas

   Dried peas are often made into a soup or simply eaten on their own. In
   Japan and other East Asian countries including Thailand, Taiwan and
   Malaysia, the peas are roasted and salted, and eaten as snacks. In the
   UK, marrowfat peas are used to make pease pudding (or "pease
   porridge"), a traditional dish. In North America a similarly
   traditional dish is split pea soup.
            Split peas (raw)
   Nutritional value per 100 g
        Energy 340 kcal   1430 kJ

   Carbohydrates                  60 g
   - Sugars  8 g
   - Dietary fibre  26 g
   Fat                            1 g
   Protein                        25 g
   Thiamin (Vit. B1)  0.7 mg      54%
   Pantothenic acid (B5)  1.7 mg  34%
   Folate (Vit. B9)  274 μg       69%
   Iron  4 mg                     32%
     Percentages are relative to US
   recommendations for adults.
   Source: USDA Nutrient database

   In Chinese cuisine, pea sprouts (豆苗 dou miao) are commonly used in
   stir-fries and its price is relatively high due to its agreeable taste.

   In the United Kingdom, dried, rehydrated and mashed marrowfat peas,
   known by the public as mushy peas, are popular, originally in the north
   of England but now ubiquitously, and especially as an accompaniment to
   fish and chips or meat pies, particular in fish and chip shops. Sodium
   bicarbonate is sometimes added to soften the peas. In 2005, a poll of
   2,000 people revealed the pea to be Britain's 7th favourite culinary
   vegetable.

   Processed peas are mature peas which have been dried, soaked and then
   heat treated (processed) to prevent spoilage - in the same manner as
   pasteurising.

   Cooked peas are sometimes sold dried and coated with wasabi as a spicy
   snack.

   Some forms of etiquette require that peas be only eaten with a fork and
   not pushed onto the fork with a knife .

Peas in science

   Pioneering geneticist Gregor Mendel studied seven traits of pea pods in
   teasing out three early laws of genetics. In the 1930's, botanist
   Margaret Robotham undertook several important experiments linking pea
   aromas to the behaviour of squirrels.

Etymology

   Canadian wasabi peas
   Enlarge
   Canadian wasabi peas

   According to etymologists, the term was taken from the Latin pisum and
   adopted into English as the mass noun pease, as in pease pudding.
   However, by analogy with other plurals ending in -s, speakers began
   construing pease as a plural and constructing the singular form by
   dropping the "s", giving the term "pea". This process is known as
   back-formation.

   The name marrowfat pea for mature dried peas is recorded by the OED as
   early as 1733. The fact that an export cultivar popular in Japan is
   called Maro has led some people to assume mistakenly that the English
   name marrowfat is derived from Japanese.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
