Southern Peas - How to pick and freeze

Southern peas have incredible flavor. Some folks say southern peas have a sweet nutty flavor. Southern peas with cornbread has long been a staple of fine cuisine. In this video, we are also going to introduce you to a sheller that will make you processing fast.
We show you how to quickly and easily determine if the peas are ready to pick. Harvesting southern peas is really easy because some varieties actually turn colors to show that they are ready to be picked. Other varieties like ours which are zipper cream peas, have to be hand checked for ripeness. After picking, a decision must be made on whether to hand shell or make use of a local mechanical pea sheller. Once they are shelled, southern peas should be blanched and frozen. We show the entire easy process.
Southern peas are an excellent side dish with fried or grilled chicken, southern fried steak, and hamburger steaks. Since they are so easy to process, we freeze about thirty pints each year. Peas will last one year in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them, remove them from the freezer, place in a pot, and slowly bring them to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. You can season southern peas to suit your taste. I just use butter and salt.
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Bama Country Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Southern peas are very tasty and easy to prepare for the freezer.

[@wandawilliams3110]

I just finished shelling some purple hulls.. Thanks for sharing. Peace

[@useful.knowledge]

Purple thumbs for days!

[@fredstanley5758]

If I’m gonna have to shell em by hand them zipper creams are what I prefer and they’re mighty tasty as well. My momma though just about won’t put up a pea that’s been run through a sheller, says she’d rather do em by hand but she blanches hers the same way and she puts em in quart freezer bags. She’ll generally put up 30 to 40 quarts every year. Thanks for the video, there’s a lot of the younger generations out there that know absolutely nothing about this, glad I’m not one of them! 👍

[@useful.knowledge]

Hi. Thanks for sharing! Zipper creams is what’s in the video. I love those peas. That is all I grow although the CO-OP snuck in a few purple hull seeds because I probably have 5 of those plants in my patch. I understand about some folks not wanting to use a sheller. I think shellers used to crush the peas. I remember someone in my family complaining about it. The sheller in the video has been great over the past few years. I think I picked out 3 crushed peas tonight out of 12 pints. Thanks!

[@CariMachet]

Do you do anything with canning peaches ? Thanks for all your data such a great channel

[@dmkulbacki]

Thanks for this video! We were given some zipper cream pea seeds and they grew like crazy. Problem is, we are totally unfamiliar with them :) If I freeze them as they come in, can I pressure can them later? Thanks

[@useful.knowledge]

It was a real good year for zipper cream peas!!

[@richardburris862]

I Like

[@etm567]

Sorry, not "solve," salt. I'm using a phone, and for some reason I cannot edit my comments on this phone. So my question is, do you salt s a l t the water you use to blanch your Southern peas?

[@useful.knowledge]

Hi. No I don’t salt the water I use for blanching. I actually put it in the peas when I freeze them.

[@etm567]

Seems to me you should boil the water, then add the peas. That's blanching. What I want to know, in which I have asked now four to six times and not gotten an answer, is do you solve the water that you use to blanch your peas?

[@mathewhuff1157]

Can you do a video on wild blackberries, best places to find them, when theyre ripe and how to avoid the thorns? thank you

[@useful.knowledge]

That’s a great idea for a video! It will be next year in June because that’s when they are ripe where I live. Thanks!

[@rachellelundy2586]

Hi, great video! First year growing zippers and just as my pods are turning yellow I'm finding brown specks on pods and some of the peas. We harvested about four (testing for readiness) and about 50% were no good. Is this normal for zipper pea crops.

[@useful.knowledge]

Thanks! I have had a few over the years with the brown specs. Some old timers said they were getting “stung” by insects and some said it was the rust. Usually we just pick them out after shelling because it’s not too many. My suggestion would be to pick them before the pod turns yellow. Press the pod, if it gives, it’s ready for picking.

[@edwardpearce1138]

Sounds like the pea curculio. We have them here in ne NC. Some times they are worse than others. Generally they are more of a problem on peas planted earlier. Try waiting until after the first of July to plant. I even had them on garden beans this year.

[@cindyhayslette306]

Where do you get your containers?

[@useful.knowledge]

Hi. I usually get them at our local grocery store. I try to reuse them each year if they are not broken.

[@cindyhayslette306]

@@useful.knowledge What size are they?

[@useful.knowledge]

Those are the 2 cup size. My goal is to get the same size as like a store bought can of peas. It will usually feed three folks at easily. If I have more folks at dinner, I’ll just open two containers.

[@cindyhayslette306]

@@useful.knowledge Thanks, that’s helpful. I think I prefer that size as well.