Definition:

See larger image

Garden and field peas, Pisum sativum, have been grown in Germany and much of Europe for over 6000 years and were among the first domesticated crops on the European continent. Farmers have produced peas, lentils, barley, millet, flax and certain kinds ancient wheat for thousands of years. Peas grow as far north as Scandinavia and up to around 6500 feet above sea level in the Alps.


They are some of the earliest spring vegetables, planted well before the last frost.

The pea was domesticated in the Middle East around 10,500 years ago (source) and has been found in archeological sites in Germany since the Linearbandkeramik Culture (linear pottery ceramic culture - LBK), which dates to around 5000 BC. Peas spread out in all directions from there and have diversified so that European peas are different from Ethiopian peas, Afghani peas and Chinese peas, at least on the genetic level.

Peas belong to the Family Fabaceae, which includes lentils, beans, chickpeas and vetches. They have been an important food, especially for the poor and in starvation times. Dried, green peas contain around 26% protein, 1.4% fat and 53% carbohydrates, dry weight, with almost 20% of that being fiber. (source)

There are three main kinds of peas which humans consume, fresh peas ("Markerbsen") which have a high sugar content, dried peas ("Palerbsen") which can be eaten fresh when young but are usually dried and used in soup or porridge, and snow peas ("Zuckererbsen") which have been bred without a hard endodermis in its husk or pod and can be eaten fresh and whole.

They may also called snap peas when they have round pods instead of flat ones.

Main planting areas for peas in Germany are Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt with a total 274,300 acres (111,000 hectares) planted in Germany in 2005. The frozen foods industry uses a portion, but 93% of the peas grown in Germany are field peas used as fodder (source). Field peas are mowed and threshed in July after drying on the plant. Peas may also be imported from Russia, China, Canada, Europe, Australia and the United States (source).

Most dried peas available in the US for sale are split peas. Most German pea soup ("Erbsensuppe") is made with whole, dried peas which possess a seedcoat. Some people claimed that the seedcoat creates a spicier taste when cooked. It also holds the peas together longer when cooked, so that soup does not always look pureed, although if cooked for long enough it will.

You can substitute split peas for most German recipes, buy whole peas online (for instance Purcell Mountain Farms), request them at your supermarket or possibly buy them at an Indian grocery. If you use split peas, you do not need to soak them before cooking.

Yellow peas are the same as green peas with a lighter flavor. They make a very pretty soup.

Cooking Dried Peas

Pick over peas to remove stones or other debris as well as broken or shriveled peas. Soak whole peas for several hours and then rinse and add fresh water in the amount called for in the recipe. This practice should remove some of the indigestible sugars and reduce flatulence. It is recommended that dried peas (and lentils and beans) are cooked without salt, which is first added when the peas are soft, since salt lengthens the cooking time.

Types of "Erbsensuppe"

"Erbsensuppe" or pea soup, is cooked similarly the world over. In Germany, it is most often cooked with "Suppengrün" (carrots, leek and celeriac) and bacon or Bauchspeck. Marjoram, bay and thyme are common herbs in German pea soup (as well as salt and pepper). Sometimes potatoes and onions are added, whereby they may be pureed with the soup or served chunky.

Berliner Löffelerbsen is a specialty of Berlin. This soup is so thick you can stand your spoon up in it. Traditionally cooked with equal amounts of soaked peas, pigs' ears and snouts. Onions and Suppengrün are sautéed in lard then added towards the end of cooking. The meat is removed, cleaned and chopped, then added back into the soup. It is often served with "Schwarzbrot" or "Graubrot" (black bread and gray bread).

Porridge - Peas as a Sidedish

"Erbspüree," "Erbsbrei," Erbsmus or Pease Pudding is another Berliner specialty also found in Saarland, Austria and England. The peas are soaked, cooked, pureed and then salted. Butter is often added at the end and the thick porridge is served with a garnish of roasted onions and crispy bacon as a side dish to cooked "Eisbein" and sauerkraut.

In Berlin it is often cooked with marjoram and sometimes potatoes. In Saarland it is only salted and served with the caramelized onions and bacon on top together with Kasseler and sauerkraut. It is a traditional part of "Hunsrücker Kirmes" (a summer carnival in Hunsrück) and served at "Kappes un Erwes" (Kraut und Erbsen) feasts throughout the year.

Austrian "Erbspüree" is thickened with a roux before passing through a sieve and garnishing with roast onions.

Peas in History

Peas were grown throughout the ages, but fresh peas were first introduced and eaten around the 16th and 17th centuries. Before that, dried peas were eaten as "Muß" or puree.

The first, industrially produced food was the "Erbswurst" or pea sausage. Developed in 1867 by Johann Heinrich Grüneberg from Berlin it was a roll of pea meal, beef tallow, defatted bacon, salt, onion and other spices wrapped in parchment paper and tied off at both ends. Pieces of this "sausage" were crumbled into water and cooked until a creamy pea soup formed. Grüneberg sold his creation to the Prussian army which parceled it out to the troops as "Eiserne Ration" or survival rations during the Franco-Prussian War. It is still sold today by Knorr A.G.

Another instant product comes from the former East Germany and is a pease porridge made with peas and potatoes. It is reconstituted like instant mashed potatoes.

Dried peas travel well and were a main food for sailors in the 18th and 19th centuriesduring voyages. It was served up to four times a week with various garnishes such as salted meat, dried plums and fish. Some ship's captains fed their crew too often with pea soup, leading the "Hamburger Speiserolle" (set of rules governing minimal requirements for ships meals on ships based in Hamburg harbor) to stipulate which days pea soup could be served and what needed to accompany it (source).

Pea Beliefs and Superstitions

Because peas have been around so long, they are the favorite foods of the "Zwergen" and the "Heinzelmännchen" (dwarves and brownies) and are found in such fairy tales as "The Princess and the Pea" and "Cinderella."

Peas were also caught up in a number of superstitions. They were placed in graves as "Totenspeisen," and pea soup is eaten at traditional wakes and funerals. They are thought to bring death into the house when eaten during Holy Week, and be unlucky when eaten between Christmas and Twelfth Night.

Also seen as fertility-enhancers, a sack of peas slapped against a fruit tree will cause the tree to bear as much fruit as peas are in the sack. They are fed to pigs as the first meal of the New Year. Peas are often served at wedding meals as well.

Note that peas may possess contraceptive properties (source).

More Stuff About Peas

"Erbsenzähler" - pea counter - an accountant may be known as a "bean-counter" but a very exacting person who checks and double checks their work is known as an "Erbsenzähler."

Simple German pea soup recipe, "Erbsensuppe"

Pronunciation: "Air-psa" with stress on the first syllable.

Also Known As: Snow peas - Zuckererbse, Kaiserschote, Kiefelerbse, Zuckerschote oder Mange-tout
Field peas - Palerbse - dried peas - Pahl-, Schal- or Kneifelerbse
Erbse - Markerbse Gartenerbse, Speiseerbse,
"die Erbse (n)"