This year I planted 3 kinds of peas. Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas, and Green Arrow Peas. This morning I went out the the garden and noticed quite a few sugar snap peas that were ready to be picked. So I decided today would be the perfect day to talk about sugar snap peas.
Now if you are an experienced gardener, you might think Gee Mavis, this is pretty basic. Ahhh, but maybe not. A few years ago my friend Mama JJ planted some peas. She thought she had planted Amish Peas, and was having a terrible time shelling them. Only to discover a few hours later {by a comment left on her blog} that she in fact had planted sugar snap peas. Amish peas are for shelling, but with Sugar Snap peas you eat the whole pod. They are NOT meant for shelling.
I remember having a good laugh about it at the time, because of all people, how could JJ {an avid gardener} not remember what peas she had planted. It was funny, and although she was briefly traumatized by it, I’m sure she’s fine now.
Putting lettuce aside, for me, sugar snap peas, mark the official start of harvesting season. It’s what The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird looks forward to all year long. When she was little, she would pick the sugar snap peas as soon as she could spot them. And when I tried to reason with her, and tell her she needed to wait a few days until they were ready, she wouldn’t have any part of it. She wanted her peas, and she wanted them now.
However, over the years, we have developed a taste for stir fry. And since you have to buy sugar snap peas at the grocery store in the winter if you want them, things have changed.
The Girl will now wait for the perfect pea.
Which leads me to when is the perfect time to pick a sugar snap pea.
Well, in most cases it’s when the pea is about 4 inches long. If you let it grow any longer, you’ll end up with tough, chewy skins that don’t have a lot of flavor. So you want to make sure and pick the pea at the peak of perfection. And not a moment later.
Of course if you can manage to make it back to the house without eating them all, you have won half the battle. The next part is trying to figure out what to do with all those delicious peas.
Which is where I am at right now.
Do YOU have any favorite recipes that call for sugar snap peas? Please let me know if you do, I’d love to try your recipe. This is only the beginning of pea season for us and I’d like to make more than stir fry with them this year.
If you missed out on planting sugar snap peas this spring, no worries, you can plant them again in late summer {I’ll be planting in late August} for a fall harvest.
Kelly says
Thanks Mavis! Does that same size apply to snow peas as well? I have some that look ready, but I’m not sure… 🙂
Mavis says
Nope. You should be picking snow peas when they are long {between 4-6″} and flat. Don’t let them puff up at all or they won’t taste any good. 🙂 I hope that helps. 🙂
Kelly says
Very much! Thanks so much!
Heather says
Do you have to wait until fall to plant again? Why can’t you plant now? Too hot?
What kinds of things can I plant now. I just build another raised bed and it’s hungry for some seeds. I’m thinking spinach and greens.
Mavis says
No. You may not plant peas,lettuce or spinach right now, it will be too hot soon. You should be planting zucchini, cucumbers, BEANS, pumpkins, squash like butternut and hubbard, more tomatoes, stuff like that. You can plant your lettuce and spinach at the end of August for a fall harvest.
Michelle says
You don’t even KNOW how jealous I am of all those glorious snap peas!! I planted some but it was too late…the vines grew but produced nothing. It was just too hot here. Next year I am SO planting them ON TIME.
Mavis says
Booooo!
Teal says
Recipe for snap peas? Is there such thing? Mine never make it from the garden to the house, just a trail of ends left behind as we eat them up!
Mavis says
Ha Ha Ha!
Michelle says
Can you freeze them like fruit? Its way too hot to plant them here now ( boo) but I know I want to plant them next year.
Zoe says
Sugar peas need blanched before frozen….drop them in boiling water for 2 minutes and then into ice water until cold. I freeze them on trays and then break them up before putting them in gallon bags. Then I can just grab exactly the amount I need for a recipe.
Michelle says
Ooh thanks.
Dawn says
Yes thank you for the info on freezing the peas. I cut up a lot of my veggies as they are getting, how do you put it, bad….. I sometimes go a little overboard with the veggie buying and then they don’t get used up. I HATE waste, just ask any of my 5 kids… So I will take what I can and chop them up and lay them out on wax paper on one of the freezer shelves and let them freeze and toss them into a ziploc in the freezer. Love to do this with onions and peppers. So easy to toss into whatever I need them for.
Mavis says
Thanks Zoe, I think I might be freezing a few batches once they start rolling in.
Mavis says
Yes! 🙂
Zoe says
While this isn’t a very original idea, I like to put them on salad. Mmmm. I’m so sad my peas are over. Picked the last of them last week.
Dawn says
Okay so I planted sweet peas and sugar snap peas this year. Problem is that when I was planting them it was pouring rain and I was just wanting to get them into the ground and get inside. So now I’m not sure which is which. On your seed pack it shows white flowers, which is what most of my plants have but they appear more like a pod type. They are already starting to swell and they are only 3 inches. Now the purple flowered ones appear more like the sugar snap type. I ate both types and I can’t tell…. Anyone have any ideas for me…. I’m feeling pretty silly right now.
Saralie says
My sugar snap peas have purple flowers.
Dawn says
Thanks Saralie, that is what I thought mine were but I just wasnt sure.
CathyB says
If you like curry, you can make a sugar snap pea and shrimp curry that we think is delicious.
For sauce mix one can of coconut milk with a tablespoon of lime juice and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Set aside. Also pre-slice a few green onions and set aside. Open a can of water chestnuts, drain, and set aside as well.
I use about a pound of raw shrimp and as many sugar snap peas as looks right. (Sorry, I have never weighed or measured how many peas – probably around 2-3 cups.) Basically I melt a little butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat, add the shrimp and peas and saute for just a few minutes until the shrimp is pink and the peas slightly cooked but still somewhat crunchy. While sauteing, sprinkle with some garlic salt (around a teaspoon), and curry powder. The amount of curry powder could vary anywhere from 1 tablespoon up to 1/4 cup, depending upon the strength of curry powder you use and how strong you like your curry. I would start with the lower amount and add more if you would like it stronger.
Add the coconut milk mixture and the water chestnuts to the shrimp/peas in the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer just until slightly thickened – no more than a couple of minutes. Add the green onions and serve over rice.
Mavis says
I have shrimp in the freezer and 1 can of coconut milk. Thanks! I think I’m going to try this recipe.
Barbara Roberys says
What is the name of the sugar snap pea with the fragrant purple flower.
My neighbor gave me the seeds.
She has never had purple flowers.
Mavis says
Hmmm. I’ve seen snow peas {the flat ones} with purple flowers but not sugar snap peas. If I can find out I’ll let you know. 🙂
carl nordberg says
nichols garden seeds use to carry them. I grew them for 2years. they don’t seem to cary them anymore. wish i could find them again.
Tracy says
Ours are almost ready too…can’t wait! Aside from the raw munch, I love them the way my SIL taught me to make them years ago. Cut a few stalks of celery on an angle. Heat some neutral oil (not olive–too strong for the delicate peas), then add a couple of whole garlic cloves. Toast them in the oil until a deep golden, then remove and discard the cloves, and add the celery. Saute the celery for a few minutes, then add all your snap peas. Toss and cook until they’re cooked but still crunchy. A little coarse salt (kosher or sea) and you’re good to go. Fast and fresh, and something about that combination really works for me.
I just googled it and found a different treatment of snap peas and garlic, without the celery, where the garlic goes in at the end so it doesn’t burn.
Yum!
Tracy says
Oops…forgot the link: http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/P-F-Changs-Garlic-Snap-Peas-Recipe.html
Bob says
Hey, uh, you used the wrong “to” in the pea size image. It should be “too small” not “to small”. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself…
Leanne says
4 inches??? I’ve never seen a 4 inch sugar snap, even from the grocery store.
Rachel says
My question is CAN I shell sugar snap peas if they got too big while gone on vacation? I harvested quite a lot but the pods are pretty tough.