How to cook green peas at home for the winter: the best recipes and useful tips

Green peas in colorful tins always catch our attention on supermarket shelves. We have known this delicacy since childhood. New Year's "Olivier" and many others dishes can't do without it.

Did you know that you can prepare this product at home? In this article we will tell you how to prepare green peas for the winter at home and preserve them.

The Best Canned Peas Recipes

It is relatively easy to prepare peas, as in the store, preserve them in their own juice, with or without vinegar, or pickle them in pods or together with cucumbers.

Let's look at each of these recipes in detail.

"Store" peas

By the name, you probably guessed that we are talking about canned peas with a taste that is well known to everyone.

You will need:

• 1.5 kg of pea grains;
• 1 liter of water;
• 1 tsp. citric acid;
• 3 tsp. salt;
• 3 tsp. Sahara.

Add salt, sugar and well-washed peas to boiling water and boil for 15 minutes. Place the peas in sterile jars and pour boiling marinade over them, close the lids. If there are concerns that the preservation may “explode,” add half a teaspoon of 9% vinegar to each jar before sealing.

Peas marinated with vinegar

Canned food sealed with vinegar lasts much longer. Thanks to this preservative, bacteria do not multiply in the brine, affecting the shelf life of the products.

Ingredients:

• 2 liters of water;
• 5 kg of green peas;
• 100 g salt;
• 100 g sugar;
• allspice peas;
• carnation;
• 70 ml vinegar (9%);
• lemon acid.

Soak the peas in water overnight to save time during cooking. Place it in a saucepan, cover with clean water, boil for 5-10 minutes, adding citric acid to the container at the tip of a knife. Thanks to this, the color of the peas will be bright and rich.

For the marinade, boil water, add salt, sugar, vinegar. Place three balls of allspice and 2 cloves in sterile jars. Add peas there too. Pour boiling marinade and screw on the tin lid.

How to Can without Vinegar

For people who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract, the “acid-free” method of preparing peas in jars using a mixture of sugar and salt is more suitable.

Marinade:

• sugar – 1.5 tbsp. l.;
• salt – 1 tsp;
• water – 1 l;
• peppercorns – 4 pcs.

Add salt, sugar and 1 kg of pea grains to boiling water. After 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to place the peas into hot, sterile jars and pour marinade.

Important. Do not fill jars to the very top. Leave 2 cm of empty space up to the neck.

Sterilization takes place in two stages. Place the opened jars in a saucepan of boiling water and do not turn off the heat for half an hour. Remove the containers, cover with gauze and cool. After 24 hours, repeat sterilization, but reduce the time to 20 minutes. After this, the jars can be closed.

Pickled pods

Peas marinated in pods can be an original dish and table decoration. Choose pods of “sugar” ripeness with the peel intact so that there are no dark spots on it.

To prepare a half-liter tank you will need:

• pea pods – 300 g;
• dill, parsley – 50 g each;
• water – 200 ml;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• salt – 1 tsp;
• sugar – ½ tsp;
• vinegar (9%) – 3 tbsp. l.;
• allspice – 5-6 peas.

Rinse the peas under running water, cut off all the “tails”. Remove the stiff tape connecting the two halves of each pod. Place the fruits in a sterile, dry jar. Add salt, sugar, finely chopped herbs, garlic, pepper. Fill the contents of the jar with boiling water, covering with a plastic lid.

After 10 minutes, pour the brine into the pan, boil again and pour into the jar. Leave for another 10 minutes. Repeat boiling again. At the same time, add vinegar to the brine. Pour the brine into the jar and screw it on with a tin lid.

Spicy peas

This recipe is perfect for spice lovers. The sweet taste of peas will be complemented by a bright bouquet of spices.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of green peas;
• 450 ml water;
• 100 g sugar;
• 4 things. bay leaf;
• 20 ml 9% apple cider vinegar;
• 4 things. carnations;
• 6 peas of allspice;
• 6 pcs. mint leaves;
• half a cinnamon stick and half a vanilla stick;
• 10 cardamom seeds.

Rinse the peeled peas well with cold water. Place it in pre-sterilized jars and add apple cider vinegar. Add all the ingredients listed above to a container of water and boil for 10 minutes. Without allowing the brine to cool, pour it into jars with peas and cover with a lid.

Take a large saucepan, put a cloth on the bottom, and fill it with water. The container for sterilizing twists is ready. Place the jars in it and sterilize over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. After this procedure, the jars are ready for “twisting”.

Peas marinated with cucumbers

What do we usually need from canning for Olivier salad? Of course, cucumbers and peas. With this recipe, you'll get all the ingredients in one jar!

You will need:

• cucumbers – 1 kg;
• green pea grains – 400 g;
• water – 500 ml;
• sugar – 4 tbsp. spoons;
• salt – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• vinegar 9% – 3 tbsp. spoons;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves;
• horseradish leaves;
• umbrellas and dill stems;
• cherry and currant leaves (to taste).

Place fresh peas on the fire and bring to a boil, cook for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the peas. Place herbs and chopped garlic in sterile dry jars. In each container place 1-2 sprigs of dill with inflorescences and 1-2 leaves of horseradish, 2-3 cloves of garlic. If you put currant and cherry leaves in your favorite preparations, use them in this recipe.

Now lay out the cucumbers. Place them vertically, sprinkling each layer with peas. Pour boiling water into the jars and cover with lids, let stand for 5-6 minutes. Pour the water into a saucepan and repeat the procedure again: boil, pour in, wait 5-6 minutes and drain. Before the third pour, add salt, vinegar, and sugar to the saucepan with the water drained from the jars. Boil the brine and pour into jars. Now you can wrap them up for the winter.

Important. For any of the above canning methods, place the jars on the lids and cover with a blanket. The longer the workpieces cool, the less likely it is that they will “explode.” Choose a cool and dark place to store peas.

Green peas in their own juice - an old recipe

This is how peas were prepared more than a hundred years ago. This recipe is in old cookbooks.

Ingredients:

• grape or cherry leaves;
• green pea.

Boil the peas for 2-3 minutes, then immediately cool under running cold water. This will preserve the color of the workpiece. Transfer them to clean jars or ceramic storage containers.Cover the top with cherry or grape leaves and place a board with a weight. It is recommended to store in a cellar. Add peas to winter salads, soups or side dishes.

Dried and frozen peas

For home storage, preservation is not the only available method. Let's consider alternative options for storing peas at home in winter.

Drying

There is nothing complicated about this process. All varieties of peas are suitable for drying. But in order to save the harvest, you must follow certain rules:

1. Collected pods clean immediately.
2. Choose young, juicy peas that have not yet hardened.
3. Sort through the harvest and discard all spoiled seeds.
4. Rinse the grains under running water.
5. Blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes, then immediately place them under an ice stream. This will preserve the color of the peas.
6. Boil again and cool again.

Now you can start drying, which takes place in the oven. Place the peas, dried after a cold shower, in an even layer on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 50 degrees for 60 minutes. Then remove the baking sheet and let the grains cool.

This takes about an hour and a half. Then return the peas to the oven, already preheated to 70 degrees, and dry them for an hour. If desired, repeat the drying-cooling process several more times.

Important. The hardness of peas and the duration of their storage directly depend on the number of drying stages.

To obtain dried peas, an electric dryer is also used. Preparing the grains is no different from the previous method. Then the peas are laid out on special mesh trays and dried for 2 hours at a temperature of 40°C, allowed to cool and drying repeated for 1.5 hours, increasing the temperature to 50°C.The third, final stage of drying takes place at 60 degrees and lasts 2 hours.

Store the harvest in jars with tightly closed lids so that food moths cannot settle in them.

Freezing

This method will keep peas fresh all winter. Let's look at several options for freezing peas at home:

• in raw form;
• blanched;
• in pods;
• in forms.

Smooth and brain seeded varieties are suitable for freezing split peas. They are tender and sweet. Sugar snap peas are suitable for freezing in pods.

Frozen raw peas

Wash the pods and remove the seeds from them. Sort out damaged peas. Place the remaining harvest in containers or plastic bags and place in the freezer. When frozen raw, the seeds may become bitter. That is why peas are heat treated before being sent to the freezer.

Freezing blanched peas

Sort out intact, bright, dense, unspoiled peas, rinse them 3-4 times under the tap in a colander or sieve. Then, directly in a colander, lower the seeds into boiling water for 2-3 minutes. After boiling water, place the peas in a container with water and ice.

Drain and scatter peas onto a tray or cutting board and freeze for 3 to 4 hours until flaky. Then package it in bags or containers and put it in the freezer for storage.

Peas, frozen in molds or broth

Wash the peas, sort them, leave the strongest, brightest, without stains or damage. Place in silicone baking molds, fill with broth or water. Place them in the freezer for 24 hours. Place the resulting “pea” ice cubes into convenient forms for long-term storage.

Reference. When any liquid freezes, it expands. Therefore, do not fill the molds with water or broth to the very top.

How to Freeze Pea Pods

Cut off the “tails” of washed and dried pods and remove the longitudinal hard fibers. Carry out heat treatment in the same way as with grains.

Attention. Tender peas are blanched for no more than 1 minute.

After this, cool sharply and blot with paper napkins or towels. Place the pods in containers or bags and place in the freezer.

Store frozen peas for 9 months at a temperature no higher than -18 degrees.

Tips and tricks

Not only fresh but also frozen peas are suitable for canning. It is enough to douse it with warm water before starting the preparation. There is no need to defrost completely. After harvesting from the garden, immediately remove spoiled, diseased and dried fruits.

If you boil peas, add a pinch of citric acid or a few drops of fresh lemon juice during the process. This way you will maintain the vibrant color of your harvest. Choose a place to store peas sealed in jars that is cool and dark.

conclusions

By choosing the most convenient way to prepare peas, you will provide yourself with a tasty treat for the whole winter. You don’t have to stand in a store in front of shelves with “Green Peas” from different manufacturers and remember which jar you bought last time and which one you didn’t like at all. Choose your recipe and your favorite dish will be on your table at any time of the year.