WHAT ARE SUGAR SNAP PEAS?

Also known as snap, butter or mangetout peas, they are a cross between snow and garden peas.  The entire pea, including the pod, is edible despite having a thicker shell then snow peas.  Delicious raw or blanched, they have a crunchy texture and sweet flavor.  When hulling the sugar snap pea just pull the string along the length of the pod to remove.  The pods are edible because the plant fibers all only go in one direction, making them easier to chew.  Each pod contains 3 to 8 peas.

WHY ARE SUGAR SNAP PEAS GOOD FOR YOU?

They’re rich in  vitamin K which helps your bones retain calcium.  Also sugar snap peas are a good source of vitamin C, and B-complex vitamins, plus folate and iron.

WHEN ARE SUGAR SNAP PEAS IN SEASON?

This is a cool season crop which is planted in the early Spring (after the last frost).  Snap peas are vines by nature and need a trellis or structure of some kind to climb.  When harvesting peas, after six hours about half of their sugar will chemically convert into starch at room temperature.  If your peas are tough, blanch or cook them briefly to soften them up!

WHAT KINDS OF RECIPES USE SUGAR SNAP PEAS?

Popular in salads, blanched or in stir-fry, this versatile ingredient only takes a few minutes to cook due to its small size.  For a bit of a different take, try this Garlic Parmesan Sugar snap pea recipe from Diethood!  Also peas pickle surprisingly well and are also great at absorbing other flavors like lemon.

ARE SUGAR SNAP PEAS HARD TO DIGEST?

Snap peas contain galacto-oligosaccharides, a chain of sugars which are hard to digest.  This sugar can feed the bacteria in your gut promoting gas.  Also the fibers can absorb water, which also causes bloating and gas.