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Tony's Talk - There isn’t a pea grown that can’t be cooked!
Although the Nation enjoyed a fantastic summer, we all know that we are suffering the after effects. Lack of moisture and high temperatures have played havoc with the potato, wheat and pea crops. As previously mentioned, despite starting four weeks late our pea crop soon looked in great shape - well established with an abundance of flowers. Then at the critical time came the heat! Just as the flowers were to transform into pods temperatures hit 25ºC when flowers just fall off. Thereafter it really was a case of “spot the pea pod”!
Although the Nation enjoyed a fantastic summer, we all know that we are suffering the after effects. Lack of moisture and high temperatures have played havoc with the potato, wheat and pea crops.
As previously mentioned, despite starting four weeks late our pea crop soon looked in great shape - well established with an abundance of flowers. Then at the critical time came the heat! Just as the flowers were to transform into pods temperatures hit 25ºC when flowers just fall off. Thereafter it really was a case of “spot the pea pod”!
In spite of all this plus the fact of excessive sunshine leading to a lot of bleaching, we have managed to secure supplies of good, green peas for our ‘Supergreens’ albeit slightly smaller in size than normal.
However, several Customers have returned bags saying that they will not cook. I exchanged some yesterday that had been on the stove for 6 hours without success? I steeped some in cold water in a cool place for 16 hours. In a conventional pan it took 75 minutes of simmering to get Mushy Peas that our Ladies in the Office wolfed down!
There will be slight variations with a few peas in the degree of ‘mushiness’ that they achieve for these few ‘chippy’ peas are those from the top of the pods that really got baked this summer.
I know I bang on about Hawkins Big Boys, but I really do wish I had found them 60 years ago! They really do take all the stress out of cooking and save one helluva lot of money on gas bills! Cooking some more of the peas returned took less than 30 minutes. With the Big Boy just the required half full of an inch of water over the top it was exactly 20 minutes before the whistle gave a strong blast. I immediately switched off the gas (or if electric use a stainless-steel version) and let the Big Boy stand for 10 minutes as it carried on cooking on its own.
If you overfill a Big Boy over halfway or leave it on the stove to carry on whistling, then pressure overload occurs pea juice will be forced through the lid vent and eventually the safety valve will blow. This will also occur when excessive bicarb or steeping tablets are added.
But it is not ‘rocket science’ to master a Big Boy and reap the benefit - as some 448 happy Customers (to date) will tell you!
We all have our own ways of dealing with variations in potato type and quality recognising that they are natural products that do not come out of a machine - and so it is with the dried Marrowfat.
Some people use bicarb, soda crystals or a steeping tablet to soften the peas in steep and allow them to reconstitute more quickly. (Remember that peas can be left in water for too long like any vegetable, especially in warm weather and then go sour. If there is a heavy scum on the steeping water, they will never soften. Many will steep several batches and freeze them so that they will always have a reserve ready to cook. Just as you make adjustments for the variance in the frying qualities of different potato deliveries and adjust your batter to cope with changes in the weather, so it is with dried marrowfats - especially this season.
But ‘cook’ they always will! ...So, may your Pea Pan never boil over... (it certainly won’t if you use a Big Boy!)
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