Marrowfat peas are green mature

peas Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum ...

(''Pisum sativum'' L. or ''Pisum sativum'' var. ''medullare'') that have been allowed to dry out naturally in the field, rather than being harvested while still young like the normal garden pea. They are starchy, and are used to make

mushy peas Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight in water with baking soda, and then rinsed in fresh water, after which the peas are gathered in a saucepan, covered with water, and brought to a boil, and then simmered until t ...

.The Garden Pea
Retrieved 14 April 2012. Marrowfat peas with a good green colour are exported from the UK to Japan for the snack food market, while paler peas are used for canning. Those with thin skins and a soft texture are ideal for making mushy peas. Canned marrowfat or "processed" peas are reconstituted from dried peas. These are soaked in cold water for 12 to 16 hours, sometimes with

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

added to aid softening. The peas are then blanched for 5 minutes and then canned in a brine containing sugar, salt and food colouring, before the cans are heat processed at . The name 'marrowfat' is believed to have been coined around 1730 as a portmanteau of ''marrow'' and ''fat'', although some claim the peas were named because people wanted plump (''fat'') peas of the ''Maro'' variety, a Japanese variety introduced to the UK in the early 20th century.

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{{vegetable-stub Legume dishes

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References