PEA - Pisum sativum

Thomas Jefferson raised 30 varieties of peas, his favorite veg, at Monticello. (The Romans evidently grew 37 varieties of peas at one point.) It appears that for thousands of years peas were eaten in soups or porridges made from the dried pea today known as the field pea. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot nine days old," is an extremely old rhyme.( As old as those peas must have been in that pot.) Some people must have eaten the pea raw or freshly cooked, of course, probably those close to where they grew, usually described as "the near East " or Central Asia. So ancient is the pea, no one really knows. All peas are legumes, fruits of vining plants, and most beans are also members of this same large family of plants. Fresh peas, known as garden peas, are the special triumph of home gardeners these days, who grow French or Italian varieties that can be rushed to the pot ever so briefly and then eaten with undivided attention. The Italians are credited with breeding what became known as "piselli novelli" or new peas, the fresh small peas most of us today call "petits pois," little peas. All thanks to Catherine de Medici, who appears in many food chronicles. She is said to have carried the Italian peas to France, along with her chefs, and by virtue of her marriage to Henri made peas a French delicacy. Peas remain cool weather plants which refuse to flourish once the heat sets in. They remind us of the joys of seasonal eating, even though we know we can always break open a bag of frozen goodies.

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	Peas made their way to Europe during the Stone Age, spinach coming somewhat later. Primitive peas were eaten by Swiss lake and cave dwellers. ( Else Bostelmann, for National Geographic Society.)
	"Picking peas on a plantation on the Ashley River, South Carolina," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, June 19, 1869.

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PEA 03 Picking peas, European scene, 19th c. chromolithograph.

PEA 04 Canned peas label, 1950's, Red Moon brand, Baltimore.

PEA 05 Pea pod people, advertising trade card, 1885, promoting a department store in Port Royal, Pa.

PEA 5 Flip Side Flip side of the above card promoting a department store in Port Royal, Pa. See what prices were like "way back then."

PEA 06 Little Pea, the Jolly Green Giant's offspring, as phone.