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Peas are one of the most popular and common leguminous plants not only in our country, but all over the world. This is facilitated by the unpretentiousness, early maturity and crop yield, 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 legumes.
Today peas are recognized as a storehouse of protein, fiber, sugars and vitamins. In mature peas contains up to 3% protein, while the fruits are one and a half times more calories than potatoes. Green peas are not in vain called sweet, because at the time of technical maturity it accumulates order, -7% sugar, quite a lot of ascorbic acid, vitamin PP, carotene and B vitamins. In addition, in juicy peas there is sodium and potassium, phosphorus, iron and calcium, essential amino acids, proteins and fiber.
Peas grown under the current conditions not only dried, but frozen, preserved, flour and other products are obtained from it.
But how at home do peas dry, marinate and freeze? Depending on the structure of the bean, they distinguish between soft and sugar varieties. The leaflets of the shelling peas become stiff as they mature, as a layer similar to waxed paper or parchment is formed inside. Sugar peas can be eaten with juicy spatulas, no less useful than the fruits of the plant.
Mature peas, with the loss of moisture and drying, acquire a wrinkled surface, but there are varieties that retain smoothness and round shape in dried form.
Today both green fresh and dried peas are an integral part of the diet of many Russian families. How to procure for the winter peas grown on the beds of their own plot?
How to dry peas at home?
To obtain high-quality pea, which goes to the preparation of soups, mashed potatoes and other dishes, they gather the fruits of wax ripeness that do not have time to grind. To ensure that the pea does not lose its beneficial properties, it is advisable to start drying no later than 5-6 hours after harvesting. But before you dry the peas at home, they peeled, sorted, removing peas that were not formed or damaged by pests.
Then the peas:
- for 1-2 minutes blanched to fix a beautiful green color and preserve the creamy consistency of peas;
- quickly cooled under running water or using lumpy ice;
- again blanch and re-cool;
- dry and scatter on a baking sheet in a thin layer.
At home, peas in an oven or electric dryer should be dried in two or three meals, for 2-4 hours, trying as little as possible to heat the tender raw materials. The ideal temperature is 40-50 ° C. Between the sessions in the oven, the peas are kept at room temperature for 3-4 hours. As drying, 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 remains inside dense peas, the longer will be the shelf life.
If the technology is observed, the peas prepared for winter will retain an intense green color, and the dishes from it will turn out to be tasty and useful.
If, for drying, not green, but already almost mature yellowish peas are collected, the final product will turn out more coarse, starchy, but quite suitable for cooking nutritious soups, making porridges and other garnishes.
From the peas dried at home, you get a wonderful meal, from which you can bake bread, quickly make refueling for soups and sauces.
How at home to store peas that have been dried? Since it is the dried beans that most often attract pests, the peas prepared for long-term storage are covered in glass containers with tightly ground lids. It is better to put cans with peas in a cool dry place, where the cereal will not be exposed to the sun's rays. From time to time, peas are shaken and inspected for insects and mold.
How to freeze peas?
For a frost suitable succulent, well-formed green peas.
- If beans of sugar varieties are intended for processing, you can freeze individual peas and whole pods.
- If the area grows peeling peas, before freezing peas in the home, it must be freed from the blades.
To prepare peas for the winter, and it remained as juicy and useful as in the garden, the beans peeled, they sorted, it took 1-2 minutes to blanch and cool, pouring ice water. This will not lose green peas and preserve its consistency and taste. When the peas are chilled, it is spread on paper napkins and thoroughly dried.
Spreading on pallets or trays, tender beans are frozen, this will not allow individual peas to stick together and form a shapeless coma. And already frozen at home, peas are poured into bags or containers for later storage in the freezer.
If you immediately pack the peas in packages and containers, then from time to time, while the process of freezing is not completed, the containers are pulled out and shaken, breaking the formed clods.
Sugar juicy peas at home and frozen in pods. To do this, the beans are sorted, washed, the petiole and coarse fibers that connect the leaves are removed. If desired, the pods can be cut into 2-3 parts. Then the prepared raw material in a colander for 2-3 minutes is blanched and cooled with ice cubes or a water jet. It is important to cool and dry the peas so that there are no traces of moisture on it. And already prepared green pods are laid out on packages or containers, tightly closed and cleaned in freezer, where the peas prepared for winter can be stored for 6-8 months, without losing taste and useful qualities.
Natural canned peas
Everyone loves green peas, without which holiday salads and everyday side dishes can not be done, you can do it in your own kitchen from raw materials collected on the plot. The peeled and peeled peas are cooked for half an hour before being sent to the banks, then the water is drained, the vegetables are dried and, spread over glass containers, are poured with boiling brine.
For pouring per liter of water, you need 10 grams of salt and the same amount of sugar. If desired, you can add your favorite spices to the liquid, for example, a currant leaf or parsley greens. Filled cans are sterilized. Together with peas in this way can be preserved corn kernels, carrot slices and asparagus.
Keep peas at home better in the basement or in the refrigerator.
Pickled peas for the winter
To gather peas from the beds marinate for the winter, it is peeled and boiled for 30 minutes.
Prepared in this way peas distributed on small cans and poured with boiling marinade, on which will require 1 liter of water, 30-40 grams of table salt, 15-20 grams of sugar and 100 ml of 9 per cent vinegar. After filling the cans, they are sterilized and sent to a cool storage place.
How to pickle peas at home?
Before you can pour peas or whole pods at home, the collected green peas are washed in running water, if necessary, grind or cut off coarse pieces from the pods. Before pickling peas, depending on the degree of maturity and the chosen method of preservation, cook for 5-10 minutes, then cool and distribute to clean jars. Prepared vegetables are poured hot brine at the rate of 1 kg of peas had 300 grams of salt.
Slices of garlic, a little pepper and other spices will give an original snack to meat dishes of piquancy and a bright taste.
Now the containers can be closed and, after cooling, sent to the refrigerator for storage.
