General Description/History

Sugar Snap Peas

• Like a normal green pea pod in appearance
• A pea pod which snaps or breaks like a green bean
• Seeds are allowed to mature and become fully rounded pods have thick walls and are sweet and edible, except for the strings
• Pod and pea is eaten whole

Select young, tender pods with good green colour.

Edible podded peas grow in cool, moist conditions. The crop is sensitive to heat. Pods can be damaged by frost, but stems and foliage are seldom affected. Peas thrive on a wide range of soils as long as the soil is well drained. Some varieties of peas require trellising and some grow on a dwarf shrub. Peas are grown from seeds in seedbeds and transplanted to paddocks with trellises, if required by variety. Peas are a legume crop and therefore some varieties are capable of manufacturing their own nitrogen. Peas require frequent irrigation to maintain optimum soil moisture.

The snow pea was developed in China thousands of years ago and is still used in Chinese cuisine today.

It should have the tough strings removed before being blanched very briefly and seasoned or cooled and used with dipping sauces. Snowpeas can also be shredded and added raw to salads.

Nutritional Value

An excellent source of dietary fibre and a good source of protein, vitamin B, B2, B3, C and folic acid. Contains some calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron. 138kJ/100g.

Storage/Handling

0°C and 90 -100% relative humidity.

Consumer Storage: Store in an airtight plastic bag in the vegetable crisper.

Interesting Facts and Myths?

Peas have come a long way to the tender, sweet varieties that we enjoy today. Archaeological have found them in cave dwellings dating back to 9750 B.C but the remains suggest that these early peas were not all that tender and that they were roasted over open flames and then peeled, much like the way we eat chestnuts today!

The average pea-pod contains eight peas.

Today there are 939 varieties of edible peas.

Season: Summer,Autumn,Winter,Spring

Botanical Name: Pisum sativum (Leguminoseae)

Alternative Names: Hoh laan dau, sweet pea, Chinese Pea, tua lan tau

Availablity: January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,December

Growing Areas: 

QLD – Bundaberg, Childers, Fassifern Valley, Lockyer Valley, Stanthorpe,
NSW – Bathurst, Gosford, Hunter Valley, Sydney
VIC – East and South Gippsland, Sunraysia
SA – Adelaide Plains, Riverland
WA – Perth Metropolitan Outer Areas