From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pea
Pea
Pea Binomial name
Pisum sativum
L.
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the
seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum [1] Each pod con-
sativum.
tains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit,[2] since
they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a (pea)
flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in
cooking. The name is also used to describe other edible
seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea (Cajanus
cajan), the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from
several species of Lathyrus.
Peas are contained within a pod P. sativum is an annual plant, with a life cycle of one
year. It is a cool season crop grown in many parts of the
world; planting can take place from winter to early sum-
mer depending on location. The average pea weighs be-
tween 0.1 and 0.36 grams.[3] The species is used as a veg-
etable, fresh, frozen or canned, and is also grown to pro-
duce dry peas like the split pea. These varieties are typi-
peas.
cally called field peas
The wild pea is restricted to the Mediterranean basin
and the Near East. The earliest archaeological finds of
peas come from Neolithic Syria, Turkey and Jordan. In
Egypt, early finds date from ca. 4800–4400 BC in the Nile
delta area, and from ca. 3800–3600 BC in Upper Egypt.
The pea was also present in Georgia in the 5th millen-
nium BC. Farther east, the finds are younger. Peas were
present in Afghanistan ca. 2000 BC, in Harappa, Pakistan,
and in northwest India in 2250–1750 BC. In the second
half of the 2nd millennium BC this pulse crop appears in
the Gangetic basin and southern India.[4]
Pea plant: Pisum sativum
Scientific classification Description
Kingdom: Plantae The pea is a most commonly green, occasionally purple[5]
or golden yellow,[6] pod-shaped vegetable, widely grown
(unranked): Angiosperms
as a cool season vegetable crop. The seeds may be planted
(unranked): Eudicots as soon as the soil temperature reaches 10 °C (50 °F), with
the plants growing best at temperatures of 13 to 18 °C
(unranked): Rosids
(55 to 64 °F). They do not thrive in the summer heat of
Order: Fabales warmer temperate and lowland tropical climates but do
Family: Fabaceae grow well in cooler high altitude tropical areas. Many
cultivars reach maturity about 60 days after planting.
Subfamily: Faboideae Raw Green Pea
Tribe: Vicieae Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Genus: Pisum Energy 339 kJ (81 kcal)
Species: P. sativum Carbohydrates 14.5 g
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pea
dense plantings, peas give each other some measure of
mutual support. Pea plants can self-pollinate.[7]
Varieties
There are many varieties of garden pea. Some of the most
common include the following:
• Alaska, 55 days (smooth seeded)
• Thomas Laxton/Laxton’s Progress/Progress #9, 60-65
days
• Mr. Big, 60 days, 2000 AAS winner
Worldwide pea yield • Little Marvel, 63 days, 1934 AAS winner
• Early Perfection, 65 days (This variety is the
foundation of many improved varieties and crosses,
- Sugars 5.7 g
including Dark-Seeded Early Perfection and Bolero, the
- Dietary fibre 5.1 g latter being one of the most successful commercial
varieties.)[8]
Fat 0.4 g
• Kelvedon Wonder, 65 days, 1997 RHS AGM winner
Protein 5.4 g • Homesteader/Lincoln, 67 days (heirloom, known as
Greenfeast in AU, NZ)[9]
Vitamin A equiv. 38 μg (5%)
• Wando, 68 days
- beta-carotene 449 μg (4%) • Green Arrow, 70 days
- lutein and zeaxanthin 2593 μg • Tall Telephone/Alderman, 75 days (heirloom, tall
climber)
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.3 mg (26%) Other variations of P. sativum include:
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.1 mg (8%) • Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon is commonly known
as the snow pea
Niacin (vit. B3) 2.1 mg (14%) • Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon ser. cv. is known as
the sugar or snap pea
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.1 mg (2%)
Both of these are eaten whole before the pod reaches ma-
Vitamin B6 0.2 mg (15%) mange-tout,
turity and are hence also known as mange-tout French
for "eat all". The snow pea pod is eaten flat, while in sug-
Folate (vit. B9) 65 μg (16%)
ar/snap peas, the pod becomes cylindrical but is eaten
Vitamin C 40.0 mg (48%) while still crisp, before the seeds inside develop.
Calcium 25.0 mg (3%)
Iron 1.5 mg (12%)
Pests and diseases
Main article: List of pea diseases
Magnesium 33.0 mg (9%)
The pea leaf weevil (Latin: Sitona lineatus) is an insect that
Phosphorus 108 mg (15%) damages peas and other pod fruits. It is native to Europe,
but has spread to other places such as Alberta, Cana-
Potassium 244 mg (5%)
da. They are about 3.5 millimetres (0.14 in)—5.5 millime-
Zinc 1.2 mg (13%) tres (0.22 in) long and are distinguishable by three light-
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.
coloured stripes running length-wise down the thorax.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database The weevil larvae feed on the root nodules of pea plants,
which are essential to the plant’s supply of nitrogen, and
Peas have both low-growing and vining cultivars. The thus diminish leaf and stem growth. Adult weevils feed
vining cultivars grow thin tendrils from leaves that coil on the leaves and create a notched "c-shaped" appearan-
around any available support and can climb to be 1–2 m ce on the outside of the leaves.[10]
high. A traditional approach to supporting climbing peas
is to thrust branches pruned from trees or other woody Use
plants upright into the soil, providing a lattice for the
peas to climb. Branches used in this fashion are some-
Culinary use
times called pea brush Metal fences, twine, or netting
brush.
supported by a frame are used for the same purpose. In In early times, peas were grown mostly for their dry
seeds. In modern times, however, peas are usually boiled
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pea
ticularly those in American Chinese cuisine.[14] 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.
In India, fresh peas are used in various dishes such
as aloo matar (curried potatoes with peas) or matar paneer
(paneer cheese with peas), though they can be substitut-
ed with frozen peas as well. Peas are also eaten raw, as
they are sweet when fresh off the bush. Split peas are also
used to make dhal, particularly in Guyana, and Trinidad,
where there is a significant population of Indians.
Frozen green peas
or steamed, which breaks down the cell walls and makes
the taste sweeter and the nutrients more bio-available.
Along with broad beans and lentils, these formed an im-
portant part of the diet of most people in the Middle East,
North Africa and Europe during the Middle Ages.[11] By
the 17th and 18th centuries it had become popular to eat
peas "green", that is, while they are immature and right
after they are picked. This was especially true in France Dry, yellow split peas
and England, where the eating of green peas was said
to be "both a fashion and a madness".[12] New cultivars Dried peas are often made into a soup or simply eaten
of peas were developed by the English during this time on their own. In Japan, China, Taiwan and some South-
which became known as garden peas and English peas peas. east Asian countries, including Thailand and Malaysia,
The popularity of green peas spread to North America. peas are roasted and salted, and eaten as snacks. In the
Thomas Jefferson grew more than 30 cultivars of peas on UK, dried yellow split peas are used to make pease pud-
his estate.[13] With the invention of canning and freezing ding (or "pease porridge"), a traditional dish. In North
of foods, green peas became available year-round, and America, a similarly traditional dish is split pea soup.
not just in the spring as before. Pea soup is eaten in many other parts of the world,
including northern Europe, parts of middle Europe, Rus-
sia, Iran, Iraq and India.[15] In Sweden it is called ärtsoppa,
and is eaten as a traditional Swedish food which predates
the Viking era. This food was made from a fast-growing
pea that would mature in a short growing season. Ärtsop-
pa was especially popular among the many poor who tra-
ditionally only had one pot and everything was cooked
together for a dinner using a tripod to hold the pot over
the fire.
In Chinese cuisine, pea sprouts (豆苗; dòu miáo) are
commonly used in stir-fries. Pea leaves are often consid-
ered a delicacy as well.
In Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and other parts of the
Mediterranean, peas are made into a stew with meat and
Peas in fried rice
potatoes.
In Hungary and Serbia, pea soup is often served with
Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavored with
dumplings and spiced with hot paprika.
butter and/or spearmint as a side dish vegetable. Salt and
In the United Kingdom, dried, rehydrated and
pepper are also commonly added to peas when served.
mashed marrowfat peas, known by the public as mushy
Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles.
peas, are popular, originally in the north of England but
Pod peas (particularly sweet cultivars called mange tout
now ubiquitously, and especially as an accompaniment to
and sugar peas, or the flatter "snow peas," called hé lán
fish and chips or meat pies, particularly in fish and chip
dòu, 荷兰豆 in Chinese) are used in stir-fried dishes, par-
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pea
shops. Sodium bicarbonate is sometimes added to soften In the mid-19th century, Austrian scientist Gregor Men-
the peas. In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the pea del’s observations of pea pods led to the principles of
to be Britain’s 7th favorite culinary vegetable.[16] Mendelian genetics, the foundation of modern genet-
Processed peas are mature peas which have been ics.[19]
dried, soaked and then heat treated (processed) to pre-
vent spoilage—in the same manner as pasteurising.
Cooked peas are sometimes sold dried and coated with
Peas in medicine
wasabi, salt, or other spices. Some people are allergic to peas, as well as lentils. [20]
Bioplastics Etymology
Bioplastics can be made using pea starch.
According to etymologists, the term pea was taken from
the Latin pisum, which is the latinisation of the Greek
Nutritional value πίσον (pison), neut. of πίσος (pisos), "pea".[21][22] It was
Peas are high in fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and adopted into English as the noun pease (plural peasen), as
lutein. Dry weight is about one-quarter protein and one- in pease pudding. However, by analogy with other plurals
quarter sugar.[17] Pea seed peptide fractions have less ending in -s, speakers began construing pease as a plural
ability to scavenge free radicals than glutathione, but and constructing the singular form by dropping the "s",
greater ability to chelate metals and inhibit linoleic acid giving the term "pea". This process is known as back-for-
oxidation.[18] mation.
1cup of raw green peas (145g) contains: The name marrowfat pea for mature dried peas is
• Calories :117 recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary as early as 1733.
• Fat(g): 0.58 The fact that an export cultivar popular in Japan is called
• Carbohydrates(g): 20.95 Maro has led some people to assume mistakenly that the
• Fibers(g): 7.4 English name marrowfat is derived from Japanese.
• Protein(g): 7.86
See also
Peas in science • Bean
• Black pea
• Black-eyed pea
• Dixie lee pea
• Mushy peas
• Snap pea
• Snow pea
• Split pea
• Sweet pea
• Yellow pea
Notes
[1] Oxford English Dictionary - Pea
[2] Rogers, Speed (2007). Man and the Biological World
Read Books. pp. 169–170. ISBN 978-1-4067-3304-4
retrieved on 2009-04-15.
[3] Pea
[4] Zohary, Daniel and Hopf, Maria (2000).
Domestication of Plants in the Old World, third edition.
Oxford: University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-850356-9 p.
105–107
[5] Purple podded peas
[6] Pea Golden Podded, The Diggers Club
[7] Alternative Field Crops Manual: Dry Field Pea
[8] "Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions for North
Pea flowers
America". http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/
wehner/vegcult/peagreenal.html.
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pea
[9] "Lincoln Peas". http://parkseed.com//p/5219/. [19] Gregor Mendel: The Pea Plant Experiment
[10] Barkley, Shelley (2007-05-02). "Pea Leaf Weevil". [20] Sanchez-Monge, R.; G. Lopez-Torrejon, C. Y.
Agriculture and Rural Development website. Pascual, J. Varela, M. Martin-Esteban, G. Salcedo
Government of Alberta. (2004). "Vicilin and convicilin are potential major
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/ allergens from pea". Clinical & Experimental Allergy
deptdocs.nsf/all/prm11287. Retrieved 2009-04-05. 34 (11): 1747–1753. doi:10.1111/
[11] Bianchini, F.; Corbetta, F. (1976), The Complete Book j.1365-2222.2004.02085.x. ISSN 0954-7894.
of Fruits and Vegetables, New York: Crown, p. 40, [21] Oxford English Dictionary
ISBN 978-0-517-52033-8 [22] πίσος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-
[12] Hedrick, U.P. (1919), "Sturtevant’s Notes on Edible English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
Plants", Report of the New York Agricultural I like to pp
Experiment Station for the Year 1919 II, Albany: J.B
Lyon Company, State Printers,
http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/p/
References
pplant189.html, retrieved Feb. 26, 2010 • European Association for Grain Legume Research
[13] Kafka, B. (2005), Vegetable Love, New York: Artisan, (AEP). Pea. http://www.grainlegumes.com/
p. 297, ISBN 978-1-57965-168-8 default.asp?id_biblio=52.
[14] Healthnotes | Snow Peas | Selecting & Varieties • Hernández Bermejo, J. E. & León, J., (1992). Neglected
[15] "Sanningen om ärtsoppan" (Swedish) crops: 1492 from a different perspective, Food and
[16] Wainwright, Martin (2005-05-23). "Onions come Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
top for British palates". The Guardian (London). (FAO) Contents
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/may/23/ • Muehlbauer, F. J. and Tullu, A., (1997). Pisum sativum
britishidentity.foodanddrink. L. Purdue University. Pea
[17] Jegtvig, Shereen (July 17, 2007). "Peas". Nutrition. • Oelke, E. A., Oplinger E. S., et al. (1991). Dry Field Pea.
About.com. http://nutrition.about.com/od/ University of Wisconsin.Dry Field Pea
fruitsandvegetables/p/peas.htm. Retrieved
2011-01-28.
[18] Pownall TL, Udenigwe CC, Aluko RE (2010). "Amino
External links
acid composition and antioxidant properties of pea • Sorting Pisum names
seed ( Pisum sativum L.) enzymatic protein • USDA plant profile
hydrolysate fractions". JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL • http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 58 (8): 4712–4718.
doi:10.1021/jf904456r. PMID 20359226.
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Categories:
• Fruit vegetables
• Edible legumes
• Faboideae
• Greek loanwords
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