This year my girlfriend Amy suggested that we plant Purple Hull Peas. She had fond memories of shelling purple hulls on the front porch with her family when she was a young girl. Apparently in some parts of the country they are called Cow Peas, and that is how our package was labled when we purchased them this spring. I didn’t know what to expect but I like to try new things in the garden so I though what the heck, let’s try ‘em!
We got our our single row of seeds in the ground the first week in June. Within 7-10 days we had some healthy sprouts were coming up. They looked much like the rows of green beans we planted immediately to the left of them. And after a few weeks we had something similar in shape and size to any sort of bush bean.
We live right on the cusp of agricultrual zones 6 and 7, and these little peas seemed to be right at home here. There was a bit of damage due to bean beatles but Amy and I only like to use pesticides if it is absolutely necessary. In this case we did end up spraying for the little buggers once, and that saved the peas. Unfortunately the green beans in the adjacent rows didn’t make it. Grrrrrrr.
About mid July the plants started to form green pea pods which then progressed to an almost tiger striped green and dark purple. The pods are really beautiful when they are in this 50/50 coloring phase. Given another 7 to 10 days the pods turned to a deep violet purple, and as we found out the hard way, will dry and become leathery if left on the plant too long. From our experimentation the optimum picking time seems to be when the pods attain a 80% to 100% purple color.
After the peas are picked from the garden the laborous chore of shelling begins. Call me crazy but I really enjoy this task. I think some of you homesteaders will agree that there can be a wonderful sense of satisfaction arising from even some of the most mundane and repetative tasks such as shelling. I love to get into a rhythm and just watch the bounty of peas in my bowl slowly rise. And luckily these purple peas are relatively easy to shell. We would just give the tip of the pea a twist and then pull the “string” out and down along the seam in the pod. After that it was a relatively simple movement of running your thumb down the seam to open the pod and strip the peas out. And as the photo will attest, your fingers will be plenty purple by the time you are done!
Once all the peas have been shelled it is time to decide what to do with them. There are really only two choices I am aware of and those would be to prepare or preserve them. We did a bit of both. We used what has to be the most simple method of preparation in the world. We boiled the peas with a bit of salt and pepper. Yes tha’s it! And they were wonderful. I am not sure if there are any botanical differences between purple hull and black eyed peas, but I do believe there is a taste difference. The purple hulls made rich broth, and had a smooth texture with a slightly nutty flavor. I can’t wait to throw in a chunk of salt pork the next time we brew up a batch. That is going to be some GOOD eating!
As for preservation we decided to freeze instead of can. This necessitated blanching the peas prior to packaging and freezing. Blanching means to scald the vegetable you are preserving using either boiling water or steam. After the blanching process you must cool the vegetable quickly and completely to stop the cooking process. For more on the blanching process check out the following URL for the National Center for Home Food Preservation:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/freeze/blanching.html
After washing and sorting our purple hulls to remove any foreign material or bad peas, we performed a four minute blanch followed by and immedate bath in ice water.
The last step in the preservation process was to package the peas. Amy told me that her family used plastic containers similar to Tupperware as storage vessles. Because I already have a vaccum bag sealing device we decided that it would be the way to go. Once the air has been removed from the plastic packages and a postive seal is made, whatever is in the bags last a good long time in the freezer. We did a few packages containg two cups each which will make nice portions for meal preparation, and one big bag we intend to share this Thanksgiving with our family!
I have a hard time describing the satisfying feeling I get when looking at a batch of food that I just prepared. I think of the money I will save at the store because I don’t have to buy a side vegetable to go with the meal I am cooking. The self reliant part of my personality enjoys looking upon food I grew on my own property with my own two hands. Healthy food that was not mass produced and fertilized with compost that we too made right here on our little homestead. In fact I believe composting may have to get an article of its own sometime.
Cheers Everyone!
