jinman
Rest in Peace
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2001
- Messages
- 20,387
- Location
- Texas - Wise County - Sunset
- Tractor
- NHTC45D, NH LB75B, Ford Jubilee
Oh, no, you're doing it all wrong.:shocked::laughing: Of course, they're easier to shell, but I prefer the smaller green peas and plenty of snaps; better flavor.. . .
. . . But I do agree with you about the bloom stems.:laughing:
Bird, I love snaps in my peas. For shelling, I'm talking about blackeyes that are green, but just before turning yellow. When the pods turn yellow/white, the peas inside will be very white with dark black eyes. I like them that way too, but they dry out too quickly if you try to let all of them get that way. When I snap the end off the pea, I want that string to zip all the way up the pea pod and make it easily open while shelling. I just don't want to have to wrestle with the pod to get the peas out.
After I pick my shellin' peas, I go back down the row and pick a nice big handfull of snaps that I can do all at once. We used to sell blackeyes by the bushel when I was a kid, and we'd always ask if they wanted snaps. If they said yes, we gave them a bag of snaps separately. So, I've always kept my shellin' peas and snaps separate. Recently, I picked a nice handfull of snaps and put them into my bucket. Kathy took the peas to the house and washed them because some of them had a few aphids on them. When I went to shell peas, I asked her where my snaps were. She said she saw my bundle of "baby" peas and didn't realize what they were. She just mixed them up with the other peas. I think I made a comment about the quality of "help" these days, and sure enough, I get to pick all the peas now.:laughing:
My preference for purple hulls is to let the pod get almost solid purple before I pick it. The purple hull pods are much more "meaty" than blackeyes if they aren't mature in my opinion. My purple hulls have almost stopped making peas while the blackeyes are still going strong. I shelled and Kathy blanched and vacuum packed almost a gallon of shelled peas yesterday.
BTW: Bird, I used to buy canned blackeyes with snaps in a Minyard store in Grand Prairie. I think they were a store brand, maybe. However, other companies like Bush's and Ranch Style have gotten into the market. I really like the Ranch Style Blackeyes with the jalapenos in them. They aren't as good as homegrown, but they'll do in a pinch.