Pea is one of the most popular and widespread leguminous plants not only in our country, but throughout the world. This is facilitated by the unpretentiousness, early maturity and productivity of the crop, as well as the high nutritional value of the collected beans. Even in the Bronze Age, people were able to collect and dry the fruits of wild bean.

Today, peas are recognized as a storehouse of protein, fiber, sugars and vitamins. Mature peas contain up to 35.7% protein, while the fruits are one and a half times caloric than potatoes. Green peas are not for nothing called sweet, because at the time of technical maturity about 4.8-7% of sugar, quite a lot of ascorbic acid, vitamin PP, carotene and B vitamins accumulate in it. In addition, sodium and potassium, phosphorus are present in juicy peas , iron and calcium, essential amino acids, proteins and fiber.

Under current conditions, peas grown by agricultural enterprises are not only dried, but also frozen, preserved, and flour and other types of products are obtained from it.

   But how to dry, pickle and freeze peas at home? Depending on the structure of the bean, shelling and sugar varieties are distinguished. The pea pods become stiff as they ripen, as a layer is formed inside that resembles waxed paper or parchment. Sugar peas can be eaten with juicy shoulder blades, no less useful than the fruits of the plant.

Ripe peas, with loss of moisture and drying, acquire a wrinkled surface, but there are varieties that maintain smoothness and a rounded shape in dried form.

Today, fresh green and dried peas are an integral part of the diet of many Russian families. How to prepare for the winter peas grown on the beds of their own plot?

How to dry peas at home?

   To obtain high-quality peas, which goes to prepare soups, mashed potatoes and other dishes, they collect the fruits of ripeness that have not had time to coarsen. So that the peas do not lose their beneficial properties, it is worth starting the drying no later than 5-6 hours after collection. But before drying peas at home, they peel it, sort it out, removing peas that have not formed or are damaged by pests.

Then peas:

• blanch for 1-2 minutes to fix a beautiful green color and maintain the creamy texture of peas;
• quickly cooled under running water or with a piece of ice;
• blanch again and cool again;
• dry and sprinkle on a baking sheet with a thin layer.

   At home, you need to dry peas in an oven or an electric dryer in two or three stages, for 2-4 hours, trying to heat delicate raw materials as little as possible. The ideal temperature is 40-50 ° C. Between sessions in the oven, peas are kept at room temperature for 3-4 hours. As it dries, the drying temperature can be brought to 60-65 ° C, making sure that the peas do not crack and have a uniform color.

The less moisture that remains inside the dense peas, the longer their shelf life will be.

   Subject to the technology, the peas prepared for the winter will retain an intense green color, and the dishes from it will turn out tasty and healthy.

If for drying, not green but almost mature yellowish peas are collected, then the final product will turn out to be more coarse, starchy, but quite suitable for cooking nutritious soups, making cereals and other side dishes.

From dried peas at home, a wonderful flour is obtained, from which you can bake bread, quickly make dressing for soups and sauces.

   How to store dried peas at home? Since it is dried beans that most often attract pests, peas prepared for long-term storage are poured into glass containers with densely ground lids. It is better to put cans of peas in a cool, dry place where the cereal will not have contact with the sun's rays. From time to time, peas are shaken and inspected for insects and mold.

How to freeze peas?

   Juicy, well-formed green peas are suitable for freezing.

• If sugar beans are intended for processing, you can freeze individual peas and whole pods.
• If peeling peas grow on the site, before freezing peas at home, they must be freed from the shoulder blades.

In order to prepare peas for the winter, and it remained as juicy and useful as in the garden, the beans are peeled, sorted, they must be blanched for 1-2 minutes and cooled, covered with ice water. This will allow not to lose the green color of the peas and preserve its texture and taste. When the peas have cooled, they spread it on paper napkins and carefully dried.

Having scattered on pallets or baking sheets, tender beans are frozen, this will not allow individual peas to stick together and form a shapeless lump. And already frozen at home, peas are poured into bags or containers for subsequent storage in the freezer.

If you immediately pack the peas in bags and containers, then from time to time, until the freezing process is completed, the containers are pulled out and shaken, breaking the clods that form.

   Sugar juicy peas are frozen at home in pods. To do this, beans are sorted, washed, stalk and coarse fibers connecting the leaves are removed. If desired, the pods can be cut into 2-3 parts. Then the prepared raw materials in a colander are blanched for 2-3 minutes and cooled with ice cubes or a stream of water. It is important to cool and dry the peas well so that there are no traces of moisture on it. And already prepared green pods are laid out in bags or containers, tightly closed and cleaned in a freezer, where peas harvested for the winter can be stored for 6-8 months without losing their taste and useful qualities.

Natural Canned Peas

   Everyone's favorite green peas, without which holiday salads and everyday side dishes can not be done, can also be made in your own kitchen from raw materials collected on a personal plot. Before being sent to the jars, the peeled and sampled peas are cooked for half an hour, then the water is drained, the vegetables are dried and, distributed over glass containers, poured with boiling brine.

To fill in a liter of water will require 10 grams of salt and the same amount of sugar. If desired, you can add your favorite spices to the liquid, for example, a leaf of currant or parsley. Filled cans are sterilized. Together with peas in this way, you can preserve corn grains, sliced \u200b\u200bcarrots and asparagus.

It is better to store peas at home in the basement or in the refrigerator.

Pickled peas for winter

   To pickle peas from the beds for the winter, they peel it and boil it for 30 minutes.

The peas thus prepared are distributed in small jars and poured with boiling marinade, which will require 1 liter of water, 30-40 grams of table salt, 15-20 grams of sugar and 100 ml of 9% vinegar. After filling the cans, they are sterilized and sent to a cool place for storage.

How to pickle peas at home?

Before pickling peas or whole pods at home, the collected green peas are washed in running water, coarse parts are peeled or cut from the pods if necessary. Before salting, peas are cooked for 5-10 minutes, depending on the degree of maturity and the chosen method of preservation, then cooled and distributed in clean jars. Prepared vegetables are poured with hot brine at the rate of 300 grams of salt per 1 kg of peas.

Slices of garlic, a little pepper and other spices give the original appetizer to meat dishes piquancy and bright taste.

Now the containers can be closed and, after cooling, sent to the refrigerator for storage.

Canned peas for the winter - video

Varieties of vegetable peas are divided into peeling and sugar.

The peeling, or cereal, peas, sweet and large, which we know and love under the name green peas, were brought by the Dutch around the end of the 16th century, and now it is spread literally all over the planet. Sugar peas can be eaten whole with young meaty shoulder blades. The fact is that in the leaflets of beans, or, as is often called, in the pods of sugar peas, there is no hard parchment layer.

An ordinary green pea is a kind of tablet with a whole group of vitamins and minerals. The sweetness in this pea is represented by glucose and fructose. Canned green peas are cheap and can be stored for years without losing taste, freshness and nutrients.

Regular peas are no less useful. But, the nutrients with which it is rich are fully absorbed by the body only if the peas are well cooked or chopped. The so-called pea flour is easy to obtain by grinding dry peas in a coffee grinder. By the way, the supply of peas can be created for years: it retains its nutritional and taste qualities for 10-12 years.

How to grow peeling peas?

Now in the store you can buy canned, dried, crushed peas. And pea flakes are generally a find for the hostess, in my opinion. And still I want to pick and eat green and sweet peas.

In an era of scarcity, I grew peas for soup. Somehow they gave me a handful of peas of a new variety, which was bred in Belarus. I don’t know its name. I gave him mine: "Hold hands, friends." You already guessed that during the growth the tendrils of a pea plant cling to their neighbors and together they rise to the sun. Plants are not tall and very beautiful.

At first it seemed to me that they didn’t even need support. But after a gale-force wind, all these kids, holding each other, lay on the ground with one thick blanket. It was necessary to raise all at once. Since then I have planted them like this: I plant the peas in a narrow bed to a depth of at least 5-6 cm, then in the corners of the area occupied by the peas, I put metal pins with rings at the top. You can just put the stakes. Then, starting from the bottom, I gradually wrap a synthetic cord around the stakes around the stakes, lifting the cord higher and higher. I fix the top layer in the rings. If you have stakes, you can drive in the cloves on top of the stakes, bend the cloves and fasten the ends of the cords. Now it will be possible to approach the pea only when it begins to bear fruit.

If the peas are planted densely, then the dense wall of the plants will prevent the weeds from developing. If the weather is dry, then peas need to be watered sometimes. Since pea is a cold-resistant plant, it can be planted early when there is a lot of moisture in the soil. I plant this variety of peas at the same time as parsley.

But sugar peas, which is intended for immediate eating right next to the beds, I plant later. This is usually the last decade of April. I do backups in the same way. Here I plant it in nettles.

That first grade, I now grow in small quantities. Although not sweet, I rip off his first green pods and we eat. I add to soups. And I collect the rest for seeds so that the variety does not disappear.

How to dry peas at home?

If the crop is large, then a little dry for soups. I use an old recipe. When the full-fledged pods are formed, you need to rip them off. To clear. And pour peas in a colander. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil and lower the colander with peas there for 5-6 minutes. Remove the pea colander, pour cold water on it and put it on gauze in one layer. The old recipe says that then the peas must be put on a Russian stove. Most of us do not have a Russian stove.

And I began to use this recipe only when I got an electric dryer for fruits and vegetables. And before, I just waited for the pods to ripen. And then she cut off, peeled, and simply scattered it on a tray, and the peas died in the loggia.

It is best to store peas in a cold room. Sometimes I just keep peas in a bag in a box at the bottom of the refrigerator. Sometimes I leave in a plywood box on a glazed loggia. In the cold, all kinds of pests are not bred.

Pea belongs to the group of plants of the legume family and is the most useful plant crop of this class. Pea drying As the procurement method, it is completely justified, since it is characterized by a high content of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. Peas are compared to beef for their high carbohydrate and protein content. It contains a lot of ascorbic acid, fiber, vitamins of groups "B", "PP", carotene. Moreover, this is one of the few products that, after the cooking process, practically does not lose its healing properties. That is why pea dishes are an invariable component of various therapeutic diets. Doctors insistently recommend including peas in their diet for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases; as a preventive measure to normalize metabolism. Like almost all legumes, peas help to cope with the risk of heart attacks, hypertension, and have a beneficial effect on the skin condition. But, unfortunately, many, knowing all the useful properties of peas, avoid eating it because of the possible occurrence of bloating. But in vain. There are simply certain rules for eating peas:

Firstly, peas must be thoroughly boiled.

Secondly, peas should be eaten with the addition of a small amount of oil (preferably olive or any vegetable) and carrots.

At the same time, there are contraindications: peas are not recommended for people with acute inflammatory processes of the gastric tract, jade and gout.

Peas are a perishable product that is not suitable for fresh storage. Fresh green peas are stored no more than 12 hours, peeled - about 4 hours. With a large number of crops, the question of its processing certainly arises. The most optimal and easiest way is to freeze. But, there is a negative side. It is advisable to eat peas in frozen form for 3 months. While dried peas are stored for a whole year.

Drying peas  at home, it’s not so difficult to carry out: in one day, you will be able to provide yourself with pea reserves for the whole year.

To make dried peas more sweet and tasty, the fruits that are not fully ripe, with bright green pods and juicy peas, are better suited. It is advisable to pluck the pods directly from the plant.

Attention: in many villages peas are grown to dry completely, because, thus, the process of peeling is greatly facilitated. Such peas obviously lose their taste, turning into the category of second-rate rough peas, which are cooked for a very long time and are only suitable for livestock feed.

So, the pods of the collected green peas are peeled, freeing from seeds. The resulting pea seeds are dipped in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. In order for the peas to retain their bright green color, a little spinach or nettle is added to the water. After that, all the peas are put in a colander and thoroughly washed from the husk in cold water. Then again placed in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. The dried peas are dried in an oven in three steps. The first 2 hours at a minimum temperature of 35-40 ° C. Then the peas are taken out and allowed to cool completely and slightly dry in air for 2 hours. After this, the peas are again placed in the oven for 2 hours and dried at a temperature of 45-50 ° C. Once again removed for 2 hours, then dried at a temperature of 60-70 ° C for about 2 hours. So the whole process drying peas  takes about 10 hours. Subject to all the above recommendations, your peas will retain their beautiful green color and after cooking will have a sweet pleasant taste and a matte shade.

Before placing dry peas in a storage container, it is advisable to check it on a sieve, removing the husk and divide it into two varieties: small, young and large, more mature grains. After dividing by the size of peas, it will be easier for you to adapt to the cooking time; peas will be more evenly cooked.

Dry peas can be stored in glass or plastic containers in a dark, dry place. Peas are perfectly stored until the next harvest.

Dried peas are always on sale and are inexpensive. But few people know that such a product can be prepared for future use independently, especially if a large crop of legumes has ripened in the garden. Home-dried peas are different from store peas in that it does not contain preservatives or extraneous additives, which means it is healthier and safer for our health. The secrets of harvesting dried peas for the winter are outlined in this review.

Pea drying

There are two main methods for drying legumes: without special heating and with one.

The first method takes longer, but does not require electricity or gas. The disadvantage is that its implementation requires the availability of free space, moreover, well-ventilated and illuminated, otherwise the product will not dry, but rot.

Did you know? In 1971, boys from the English village of Witchem (Cambridgeshire) organized a pea-shooting tournament against targets. The locals liked the idea so much that they began to hold competitions annually, and today the championship has gained international proportions, gathering enthusiasts from the UK, Holland, Spain, the USA and New Zealand.

Since such conditions may not be created in every farm, we dwell in more detail on the second, accelerated drying method. It is better to use a special electric dryer for this, but you can use a conventional oven.

In the oven

Before starting to dry, green peas should be boiled.

Step-by-step instructions for drying green peas in the oven:

1. Prepare the raw materials.  Peas for drying is better to take shelling. Brain and sugar varieties are usually consumed fresh, since all their dried advantages are completely lost. It is also advisable to harvest before the fruits finally harden and overflow with starch. It is considered ideal to remove the pods 2-3 weeks after the plant has flowered, and you need to process the seeds immediately after harvesting, otherwise they will lose most of their useful properties.
2. Extracted from the Pods  and peeled peas rinse under running water.
3. Pour into boiling water and boil  for two minutes after boiling again.
4. Drain the water by pouring the raw materials into a colander, and pour into a previously prepared container with cold water (you can add a few ice cubes to the water). This procedure is necessary so that the fruits retain their original bright green color.
5. Dip peas in boiling water again, this time it is enough to boil it only a minute.
6. Drain the water  (it should remain transparent).
7. Lay the fruit in one layer on a paper towel  or other water-absorbing material and leave for a while until completely dry.
8. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.  Spread the peas on paper, trying not to allow the fruit to be arranged in several layers.
9. Put the baking sheet in the oven, preheated to + 45 ... + 50 ° С  (it is better to use the top shelf of the oven so that the fruits do not dry out and do not burn).
10. Close the oven door, leaving a small gap  for air circulation.
11. After an hour, remove the pan from the oven  and let cool at room temperature for 60–90 minutes.
12. Walk the rolling pin on the surface of the fruit to get rid of the air chambersformed inside the pea in the process of extreme drying and preventing the "conservation" of useful substances. For the same purpose, you can use oppression.
13. Repeat the drying process in the oven, increasing the temperature by 15–20 degrees.
14. After an hour, the peas should acquire a solid texture and lose their gloss.  However, properly dried peas should not resemble stones to the touch; rather, they acquire a velvety surface. Another sign of readiness is the presence of wrinkles around the entire circumference of the fruit.
15. If, when pressed against a pea, it loses its shape, drying is not finished.  However, in order to prevent the evaporation of all moisture from peas (and such a product can be considered spoiled), it is better to leave the beans to dry at room temperature and only then pack them in storage containers.

In the electric dryer

With an electric dryer, the product procurement procedure looks simpler:

1. Install special nets on the trays of the electric dryerso that the small peas do not fall in during drying.
2. Prepare the peas.  The rules for assembly, cleaning and pre-washing are standard and do not depend on whether an oven or an electric dryer is used in the future. The same goes for blanching, although some housewives skip this step and send the product raw to the electric dryer.
3. Put the peas in trays strictly in one layer.  Regardless of how many trays will be occupied by raw materials, everything needs to be installed in the dryer, this is important for proper air circulation during the drying process (in order not to “drive” the unit idle, you can put other products suitable for drying - vegetables, fruits or greens, for example, fresh dill).
4. Set the temperature to +60 ° C and leave the peas to dry for 7-8 hours  (you can make a download in the evening and leave the electric dryer to work until the morning).
5. After a while, the product is ready.  It remains to pour it on a flat surface and cool.

How to dry peas in an electric dryer: video

Storage rules

Many store dry peas in a cellar or refrigerator, while others prefer to store them in containers at room temperature. You can use both of these methods, the only question is how high quality the raw materials were, and how precisely the drying technology was followed.

Important! Properly dried peas can be stored for several years at room temperature (not higher than +25 ° C). If the fruits are moldy, this means that the workpiece was of poor quality.

To ensure the safety of the product, you should be guided by the following rules:

• packing can only be done after complete cooling, warm fruits will begin to fog up and release moisture, which will subsequently lead to the development of mold;
• dry peas should be stored in a tightly closed container, preferably glass, but plastic food containers are also suitable;
• for storage, you need to choose a place protected from light and absolutely dry;
• to protect the product from dampness, it is recommended to lay small cloth bags filled with sodium chloride before packaging on the bottom of the container.

What can I cook?

The first dish that comes to mind at the mention of peas is soup.

There are many recipes for pea soup, for example:

• on different types of meat (chicken, beef, lamb, pork) or lean;
• with smoked meats (pork ribs, bacon, sausage, chicken and even fish);
• with celery;
• with chickpeas;
• with meatballs;
• with mushrooms;
• with stew;
• with dumplings;
• with sour cabbage (a variety of cabbage soup).

  Also, legumes can be used to make porridge or mashed potatoes and be used as a side dish or independent dishes, especially if they are seasoned with cracklings or fried bacon, smoked meats or wild mushrooms.

In addition, peas in the form of porridge or mashed potatoes are used as a filling for pies and other types of baking. You can also make casseroles from it.

Dried peas occupy a special place in the menu of vegetarians, because he is one of the few plant foods rich in protein. Substitutes for meat dishes are prepared from it - meatballs, meatballs, "sausages."

In the cuisines of the world there are original pea dishes, some of which have become famous and loved outside the same ethnic group. Perhaps the most famous of these dishes is hummus.

Did you know? In 1975-1990, many refugees from Lebanon moved to the United States, where a civil war was taking place at that time. Obviously, migrants instilled a love of hummus for the indigenous population. According to surveys, one in five Americans eats this dish all the time.

Fans of Indian cuisine are probably familiar with such a dish as dosas. This is a spicy fritters of rice and legumes, fried in oil. The recipe for their preparation also contains dried peas.

To summarize. Home-made dried peas are an easy-to-make harvest that can enrich and diversify the winter diet.
   Preparing and using such a product is more pleasant than its purchased counterpart, since it contains the main secret component, without which truly healthy food is impossible - a good mood and love for your loved ones.

Green peas are poorly kept fresh, therefore, when receiving large yields, the housewives think about how to save it. Drying is one of the simplest and most effective ways of harvesting vegetables, which allows to preserve the taste, color and vitamin composition of the product as much as possible. Learn how to properly dry green peas at home so that they do not lose their color and nutritional qualities, learn from this article.

Drying green peas: technology and features

To make the dried product as high-quality as possible, only young juicy 14-18 day peas should be used - soft with a delicate taste, the process itself consists of the following steps:

1. Freshly picked out from the pods and calibrate to size, as large and small peas should be dried separately.

Before drying peas, it must be calibrated to size

2. Blanch the pea grains, lowering them alternately - for 2 minutes in boiling water, for 1 minute in cold and for another 1 minute in boiling.

Advice! Adding several leaves of spinach or nettle twigs into the water for blanching will allow the green color of the peas to become brighter and richer, while if the vegetable is folded into a metal colander or net, the blanching process itself will be easier and faster.

3. Dry out the peas by sprinkling it on paper or a towel.

4. Put the dried peas in the oven for 2 hours, without closing the door - at t ° + 40 ° C.

5. Having taken out, the peas should be dried for another 2 hours in the air.

6. Place again in the oven for a couple of hours, maintaining - t ° + 50 ° C.

Prepared pea blanch

7. Remove and re-dry in air for 2 hours.

8. Drain the grains for 2 hours in the oven at t ° + 70 ° C until completely dry.

Attention! A fully dried quality product has a dense structure and a beautiful green color.

Storage and use

Qualitatively dried grains of young peas are well preserved throughout the year. They can be stored in a canvas bag, paper bag or glass container, choosing a dry, shaded place.

Properly dried peas are green.

Before use, dried peas require heat treatment. To do this, it is boiled or stewed. Using this product will diversify the winter menu with new dishes, as well as compensate for the lack of vitamins. Dried young peas can be used for cooking:

• vegetable broths and soups;
• salads;
• toppings for pies;
• stews, mashed potatoes, side dishes;
• stews with meat, poultry or fish.

Ready peas can be obtained in 12 hours