Pea pods : nutritional properties, recipes and tips on how to cook pea pods.
Pea pods are commonly called pea pods , and although many Italians are unfamiliar with them, they can be consumed in a variety of recipes.
Technically speaking, pea pods are a fruit like apples or pears! Botanically , pods develop from flowers and produce seeds (peas) like any fruit. Pea pods have always been edible, just think that in medieval France, peas were called “mange-tout,” because both the seeds and the pods were consumed. In the culinary culture of the Philippines, peas are eaten still in their husks!
Unlike the seed, pea pods cannot be stored for long and must be consumed fresh, so before preparing any recipe, make sure you use only very fresh pea pods because they are easily perishable.
Nutritional properties of pea pods
Pea pods have remarkable nutritional properties, especially when it comes to vitamins. They are low in calories, contain no fat and can add flavor and texture to your dishes.
A 100 gram serving of pea pods provides only 42 calories with a good micronutrient profile. Pea pods are a great source of vitamins A, C and K. Vitamin A is important for healthy skin and eyes, helps the immune system function and is essential during growth. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that, as everyone knows, strengthens the immune system. Not everyone knows that vitamin C is useful in cases of gingivitis or particularly sensitive gums and helps the production of collagen. Vitamin K promotes bone health and is essential for normal blood clotting.
100 grams of pea peels provide 2 milligrams of iron, a mineral essential for many enzymes and to ensure good health of the body.
Recipes with pea pods
It is easy to cook pea husks, they can be prepared boiled or sautéed in a pan, they can be the protagonists of tasty flans and even cream soups. Pea pods have an equally sweet flavor, in fact, in some cases they are sweeter than the peas we usually eat, the only big difference is in the consistency: pea pods are very fibrous. 100 grams of product provide 3 grams of fiber to the body. For all the recipes to prepare with pea pods I refer you to the articles:
Suggested recipes: pea pod flan, risotto with pea skins, pea skin cream soup, pea skins in batter.
The same recipes can be used to recycle broad bean peels .
Why consume the pods?
Pea pods are not the only “edible peels” . We can cook potato peels , courgette peels, broad bean pods, pea pods or borlotti bean pods. The pods represent approximately 70% of the legume, which means that if you bought 10 euros of fresh legumes, 7 euros were wasted! As is clear from the nutritional properties, pea pods are not only edible but also provide a large number of essential micronutrients for the body. The taste of the pods is very similar to that of the legumes they contain. Remember that, when cooking pods, the fresher they are, the better the result.
Attention!
In this article we talked about the husks of common peas and not of the macrocarpon variety known as snow pea or snow pea; of this variety it is normal to also consume the pod because the seeds do not develop stopping at the embryonic stage. Snow peas are more tender than the classic pods of the common pea or rather, the varieties to be shelled.
