When bio nerds meet, what secret code do they use to identify their own kind?
Mention peas, and literature lovers might think of the Princess and the Pea, or Guan Hanqing's clanging copper pea, but most students and STEM nerds will definitely first think ofyellow-round and green-wrinkled.
The terror of being ruled by 9:3:3:1. Image: slideplayer.com
Why was Mr. Mendel, the father of genetics, able to precisely choose peas as his experimental material back then? Rationally speaking, it was because peas have a short growth cycle, obvious contrasting traits, and are almost strictly self-pollinating, making them very suitable for genetics research; but emotionally speaking, the wheel of fate always turns forward with those who are prepared,Mr. Mendel's "the time has come", observation, thinking, plus a little bit of luck, helped him open the door to the mysteries of genetics.
Mr. Mendel's gaze. Image: wikipedia
The familiar yet unfamiliar pea
Although in high school we did a huge number of pea-related problems almost every day, becoming thoroughly familiar with traits like tall and short plants, round and wrinkled seeds, and yellow and green seeds, few people have probably seen a pea plant in real life. If, when reading fairy tales, you noticed that what Jack planted and grew was a"beanstalk reaching the sky", then even if you have never seen a pea plant, you will know that peas are a kind ofclimbing vine plant。
Growing peas requires setting up trellises. Image: Bmdavll / wikipedia
Many climbing vine plants have"tendril" structures. Although the origins of "tendrils" differ, their appearance is mostly similar. Peas also have such "tendrils", with branched tendrils growing from the tips of the leaf axes to help them climb. When pea new leaves and tendrils first emerge, they aretender and translucent, making it easy for people to have the"can it be eaten, is it good, how to cook it"thought, so "stir-fried pea shoots" and "pea shoot soup" quickly appeared in the recipes of the working people. Pea shoots taste crisp and refreshing, though some people find them slightly grassy and fishy and are not quite used to them.
Because of their shape, in some places pea shoots are called dragon-whisker vegetable, so newly sprouted pea seedlings are also called dragon-whisker sprouts, and like mung bean sprouts and soybean sprouts, they can be stir-fried and eaten. When peas sprout, unlike soybeans and mung beans, their cotyledons do not emerge from the soil, sopea shoots look more like "little grass", and the part of the pea shoot that is cut does not include the beans, so eating it gives only the crispness of the tender stems and the freshness and softness of the tender leaves, which is why many people like it.
Pea shoots. Image: amkhaseed.com
Pea fruits transform, transform, transform
Having eaten the pea vines, of course we cannot skip the fruits either.
Image: Rasbak / wikipedia
Most people's impression of peas should be the appearance of green peas. This kind of pod, about the same length and thickness as a finger, packed with many plump round beans inside, belongs tothe "hard-podded pea"type. The pods of this kind of pea are basically inedible, and people mainly eat the beans inside,a snack very suitable for gnawing on"garlic-flavored green peas" mostly uses this kind of green pea as its raw material.
The spherical green pea that still pressed on the princess even through twenty mattresses of velvet. Image: hemophiliafed.org
Flattened green soybeans. Image: splendidtable.org
If there are "hard-podded peas", then naturally there are also"soft-podded peas". After breeding, the inner layer of the pod of this kind of pea no longer grows a tough "protective membrane", so it tastes relatively soft and tender with no fibrous texture, though the beans are relatively less developed, and most of the time it isstir-fried and eaten whole, pod and all. Wait, did you think of something? Isn't this just snow peas!
Snow peas, which do not grow an inner pod layer and have very small beans, are also a kind of pea. Image: Renee / wikipedia
Hyacinth bean seeds are larger and flatter. Image: Francisco Manuel Blanco / wikimedia
Are snow peas from the Netherlands?
Mentioning snow peas, we also have to talk about the issue of their name. In China we call them "Dutch peas", which makes people think this should be a kind of "bean from the Netherlands" (by the way, the place of origin of the original pea species is generally believed to be West Asia and the Mediterranean region), but in factsnow peas were not a variety bred in the Netherlands。
There are many explanations for why "Dutch peas" are called this. The explanation I personally find relatively reasonable is this: when the Dutch were running all over the world in the 17th century, they brought this flat pea variety from its breeding area near Southeast Asia to Taiwan (another explanation is that snow peas were a variety bred by the Dutch in Taiwan at the time), where the locals called them Dutch peas, and then when the name spread to the mainland region it continued to be used.
Snow pea plant. Image: Rasbak / wikimedia
And snow peas are calledChinese peasin the Netherlands, which is rather strange. Local Dutch people mostly call them "peultjes", while most English-speaking countries call them "snow pea", but "Chinese pea" can indeed also be seen in these countries, though no one can say why they are called that.
The Dutch rarely eat snow peas, and locally snow peas are soldin small quantities and at high prices, so some people think it may be because snow peas can often be seen in local "Chinatowns" that occasionally someone calls them "Chinese pea". This explanation does not sound very convincing, but let's just go with it for now.
By the way, in French snow peas are called "mangetout", from the French "manger+tout",meaning "eat-all", referring to the fact that this kind of pod can be eaten entirely, pod and beans together. After snow peas, other soft-podded pea varieties with thicker and crisper pods were also bred, and many of them can also be called "mangetout", such as snap peas and sugar pod peas.
A snap pea variety with thicker pods that can be eaten raw. Source: honestcooking.com
The names of various beans in vegetable markets have always been very confusing. Besides hyacinth beans, sword beans, common beans, and others can also be confused with peas in appearance. Moreover, the same bean has different names in different places, and different beans may also have the same name in different places. For example, common bean, green bean, yardlong bean, long bean, and cowpea may refer to one kind or three kinds of beans depending on the region, so it is actually not very necessary to agonize over the names of beans in daily life.
Peas can also be grown as potted plants
However, it is necessary to distinguish peas fromsweet peasLathyrus odoratus, because the sweet pea plant is toxic if eaten. If you pick a section of tender sweet pea shoot and stir-fry it as pea shoots, something bad will happen. Peas generallybear white or purple flowers, and depending on the variety may also produce other more vivid colors such as red. As a horticultural species, sweet peas are very similar to peas in plant and flower form. Although their flowers have richer colors and fragrance, they are still not easy for ordinary people to identify, so never reach out and pick "peas" to eat unless you planted them yourself.
If you like gardening and do not have small children at home, I would still recommend growing some sweet peas to beautify a balcony or small garden. This plant is not difficult to care for, and with proper pruning it can keep blooming,colorful and fragrant, and unlike roses it is not thorny and difficult to remove. If you want to grow peas directly, of course you can, but although pea flowers are also quite pretty, the number of flowers is not as impressive. The advantage, though, is that you can pick the tender shoots for cooking, the pods can also be used in dishes, and after shelling some peas you can even sprout pea shoots,making it the top choice for food lovers。
This article is the 238th article of the 4th year of Species Calendar, from Species Calendar author @ArcherEmiya.